A new generation of firefighters fighting fires that respect no borders

In the Americas, fire is no longer a seasonal visitor : it has become a permanent resident. In 2024 alone, more than 950,000 square kilometers —an area larger than Bolivia—burned across the continent. The devastation not only consumes forests: it devastates crops, infrastructure, watersheds, and leaves millions of people breathing polluted air. The climate impact is colossal: in that same year, fires released 2.6 gigatons of CO₂ equivalent into the atmosphere.

In response to this crisis, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has launched the Agroforestry Firefighters of the Americas initiative: a modular, continental, and community-based unit designed not only to extinguish fires but also to prevent them and restore territories after a fire.

These teams combine cutting-edge technology—drones, satellite imagery, artificial intelligence—with ancestral knowledge of soil, grassland, and forest management. Their work begins long before the smoke is seen: they train rural communities, carry out controlled burns, and restore degraded areas. The goal is clear: building territorial resilience.

International collaboration isn't an option; it's a necessity. In 2023, Costa Rican firefighters traveled to Canada to assist during the most devastating season the country has ever experienced. Mexico has sent firefighters to Chile and California . This hemispheric rotation—possible because the fire seasons in the North and South don't coincide—is reflected in the annual fire calendar by region.

Europe also contributes experience. For example, Spain participates through the Iberian Center for Research and Fighting Forest Fires (CILIFO), which collaborates with IICA to transfer techniques, protocols, and training. Since 2003, the Spanish national park system has trained Costa Rican personnel and donated equipment that is still in use today.

The plan includes partnerships with regional banks, the Green Climate Fund, and private companies in the forestry and agrifood sectors. It also proposes an innovative framework: group insurance, temporary volunteer migratory status, and specialized certification, recognizing that fighting fires in temperate coniferous forests is not the same as fighting fires in highly biodiverse tropical rainforests. Another objective is to provide more modern equipment and systematize support for volunteer units across countries.

More than an emergency response force, they are a continental network of land guardians. In a continent where fire is no longer the exception, but the norm, these agroforestry firefighters represent a vision that unites science, technology, and community commitment to defend the future.