The Perceptions of Forest‐Dwelling Communities of Fire‐Induced Forest Degradation in the Amazon and Its Implications for Improving Biocultural Restoration

ABSTRACT Accidental fires pose a huge threat to the integrity of tropical forests, including the social forests managed by traditional populations in the Brazilian Amazon. Thus, understanding and incorporating the perception of local actors in strategies to search for solutions is an urgent demand. This study examines the perception of residents of three indigenous communities of the Tapajós –Arapiuns Extractive Reserve, eastern Amazon, about the causes and consequences of forest degradation by fire (i.e., accidental forest fires). The Pressure –State –Impact –Response methodology was applied, considering 4 dimensions, 14 indicators, and 32 response variables. The data were collected in 2019 through semi‐structured interviews with 35 residents of indigenous communities who declare themselves to be of the Tupinambá ethnicity. A correspondence analysis was performed verifying the occurrence of scenarios favorable and unfavorable to the fire according to the interviewees. In general, the communities studied recognize the vulnerability of the territory to the occurrence of fire, particularly in times of severe drought. In addition, they recognize social, economic, and environmental losses and are willing to act to contain the degradation and restoration of burned forests to restore the losses caused by fire. This perception not only benefits but makes the incorporation of these actors a key element in potential strategies to combat degradation, including the design and execution of initiatives for the biocultural restoration of social forests.