When wildfires ravage landscapes, destroy homes, and endanger lives, the immediate instinct is to put them out. Flames licking across dry savannahs evoke images of destruction and panic, especially when headlines from California to Australia capture apocalyptic infernos.
However, in Kenya and much of Africa, fire tells a more complex story.
To Dr. James Millington, a landscape ecologist at King’s College London, the conversation must shift from fear to understanding. “Fire is increasingly being seen on TV as a negative thing. But fire is a natural part of many ecosystems,” he said during a recent fire management workshop in Taita Taveta County.
Together with Chege Amos, a PhD research student also based at King’s College, Millington is working to reframe fire not just as a destructive force, but as a land management tool, one that requires both scientific insight and the revival of Indigenous knowledge long ignored by colonial-era fire policies.
Their initiative, which is anchored in the Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society, seeks to develop an Integrated Fire Management Plan (IFMP) for Kenya, a strategic approach that combines science, policy, and Indigenous knowledge to plan, prevent, and control wildfires.
Their efforts aim to build an inclusive framework that empowers communities, improves ecosystem health, and prevents devastating wildfires through controlled, proactive use of fire.
Contrary to popular belief, fire is not always harmful. In fact, many landscapes across Africa, including the savannahs and grasslands in Tsavo, depend on it.
“Vegetation needs fire to regrow. Fire is useful to promote forage for livestock, to clear agricultural waste after harvest, and in many areas, it’s even used to manage pests,” explained Millington.
Amos elaborates further stating that “From a social perspective, communities have benefited from fires by using them to control vegetation, pests, and improve soil quality. Ecologically, fire shapes ecosystems, opens up grazing lands, and supports wildlife movement.”
However, these benefits are only realized when fire is used responsibly, something both researchers say has been lost in Kenya’s fire policy environment.
For decades, Kenya’s approach to wildfires has been reactive. Fires are seen as emergencies and something to be put out quickly with little consideration of their ecological value or cultural context.
“Most of Kenya’s responses have been reactive. We wait for fires to happen, then scramble to suppress them. There’s little planning or proactive use of fire as a management tool,” said Amos.
This stems in part from colonial fire suppression laws, which disrupted Indigenous practices that historically used fire for land management. Today, those outdated legal frameworks continue to dominate fire policy.
The existing fire-related legislation focuses almost exclusively on national parks and reserves. “It doesn’t cover community conservancies or private ranches, which are equally vulnerable to wildfires. And even where fire use is allowed, there’s confusion about how to get permits, who issues them, and under what conditions,” Amos said.
In short, Kenya lacks a comprehensive, inclusive, and clearly defined framework to govern the use of fire across its varied landscapes.
That’s where Millington and Amos’s work comes in. Their mission is to co-develop a practical, holistic fire management plan grounded in both science and community wisdom.
The proposed Integrated Fire Management Plan (IFMP) seeks to unite diverse stakeholders including the local communities, Indigenous groups, ranch owners, government agencies, and conservationists, in shaping how fire is used and regulated across Kenya’s conservation areas.
“We’re learning from successful case studies like northern Australia. There, Indigenous knowledge is being reintegrated into land management through cultural burning. These practices reduce the risk of catastrophic fires while maintaining healthy ecosystems,” said Millington.
But he is quick to caution against copy-paste models stating, “Not everything will work exactly the same in Africa. We need to adapt the lessons from elsewhere to fit the local context.”
To do that, the team is putting Indigenous knowledge at the heart of their planning process. Their first workshop in Taita Taveta brought together local elders, community representatives, and government officials to map out how people use fire, where conflicts arise, and what knowledge systems are at risk of disappearing.
“Historically, Indigenous people lived with fire and managed it sustainably. They understood where to burn, when to burn, and how frequently. Colonization disrupted these systems. Our goal is to restore that balance,” said Amos.
Community members spoke of using fire to clear farmland, stimulate grass regrowth for livestock, and even to aid in hunting. But they also acknowledged that with changes in land ownership, climate patterns, and law enforcement, some fires now spiral out of control, often unintentionally.
By capturing this nuanced perspective, the researchers aim to blend traditional and scientific approaches into a fire strategy that is context-specific and locally accepted.
While policy reforms lag, the researchers are pushing for amendments to existing fire legislation to reflect today’s realities. They recommend expanding definitions to include all conservation areas such as community ranches and private conservancies and not just national parks and reserves.
Another proposal calls for clarity around prescribed and controlled burns by stating who can authorize them, under what conditions, and how communities can safely participate.
“We’re suggesting that integrated fire management frameworks be embedded in the law. That way, we can transition from suppressive to proactive strategies, reduce firefighting costs, and improve ecosystem health,” said Amos.
They also advocate for community training and education on fire safety, coupled with real-time support during the dry season to conduct safe, controlled burns.
One of the core messages from the workshop was that effective fire management is everyone’s business as Millington explains, “Local communities must be involved. But so must ranch managers, county governments, and national institutions. Each has a role to play.”
As the team works toward a second workshop later in the year, they plan to draft a preliminary fire management plan based on field research, stakeholder feedback, and comparative studies from other countries.
This collaborative approach, they hope, will mark a new chapter for fire governance in Kenya, one that acknowledges fire’s power as both destroyer and sustainer.
As wildfires become more frequent and intense due to climate change and land-use pressures, the need for smarter fire management is urgent.
Kenya’s ecosystems, particularly those in drylands like Tsavo, are especially vulnerable. But they are also rich in community knowledge and resilient traditions that can be revived.
“The goal isn’t to eliminate fire. It’s to live with fire safely, sustainably, and wisely,” said Amos.
If successful, their integrated fire management model could become a blueprint for other African countries grappling with similar challenges by offering a compelling alternative to fire suppression policies that have too often failed both people and nature.
