O letramento ambiental como estratégia de prevenção na gestão de incêndios florestais pelo Corpo de Bombeiros Militar da Bahia

Abstract

This study analyzes wildfire risk in the state of Bahia, Brazil, and designs an environmental literacy program framed as a social technology embedded in the Bahia Military Fire Brigade (CBMBA) to prevent wildfires in the Caatinga, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. It is an applied, mixed-method (quantitative–qualitative) investigation with a descriptive–exploratory design and a product-development component. The methodological pathway is organized into three axes: (a) an environmental diagnosis of wildfires in Bahia between 1998 and 2024, based on historical series of active fire detections from BDQueimadas/INPE and burned-area estimates from MapBiomas Fogo; (b) a structured survey of 198 military firefighters who completed the Wildland Fire Prevention and Suppression Course, with 123 valid responses (response rate of 62.1%) analyzed using descriptive statistics; and (c) a critical–interpretive integration of results under the HEVC framework (hazard, exposure, vulnerability, capacity), the Brazilian National Policy for Civil Protection and Defense (PNPDEC), the National Policy on Integrated Fire Management (PNMIF), the National Environmental Education Policy (PNEA), the Sendai Framework and the literature on environmental literacy and risk governance. The findings indicate intense and recurrent fire pressure in Bahia, with marked seasonality between August and October, peaks in September, and distinct risk configurations across biomes, combining drought, land-use change, socio-environmental vulnerabilities and asymmetric institutional capacities. The survey highlights accumulated operational experience, a shared perception that prohibition- and suppression-only strategies are insufficient, logistical constraints and an explicit demand for systematic educational engagement with rural communities and schools. The synthesis of these elements supports the proposal of an environmental literacy program anchored in the CBMBA, structured in training modules and participatory strategies to strengthen community and institutional capacities for critical risk interpretation and vulnerability reduction in the face of wildfires in Bahia.