The burning of vegetation is a very common practice in tropical areas. But, beyond certain burn standards, the utility aspect of fire is superseded by its harmful effect on ecosystems. In Togo, despite awareness-raising, uncontrolled fires are recorded every year over a large part of the country and mainly in protected areas (PAs). Faced with the increasing occurrence of fires and the lack of basic data, it is becoming urgent to draw up the status of fires, the characteristics of the outbreak and spread of fires, their impacts on natural resources and the reasons that explain the difficulty of appropriating fire management tools by actors. This study aims to improve the understanding and management of wildfires. Specifically, it aims to study the spatio-temporal dynamics of fires, assess the areas actually burned in three priority protected areas, determine the parameters for evaluating fire behavior, assess the impacts of fires on biomass and analyze the level of effectiveness of fire regulation in Togo.

To study the spatio-temporal dynamics of fires, assess the areas actually burned in three priority protected areas, determine the parameters for evaluating fire behavior, assess the impacts of fires on biomass and analyze the level of effectiveness of fire regulations in Togo, and analyze the level of effectiveness of fire regulation in Togo, remote sensing data were analyzed and compared with field measurements. Active fires and burned areas were mapped in ArcGIS. Experimental plots were installed in the savannas of three APs. Aerial herbaceous biomass, which is most exposed to surface fires, was analyzed. Surveys among actors made it possible to assess the impact of awareness-raising on the appropriation of fire management tools.

It appears that between 2003 and 2014, an average of 8836 ± 2083 km² are covered annually by fires in Togo, i.e. 15.61 ± 3.68% of the territory. The frequency of years of extreme fires of 2 to 4 years has emerged nationally since 1995. But, as of 2012, the trend continued at an extreme level, testifying to the increase in fires. On average 28.69 ± 7.83% of the area of PAs burn per year according to remote sensing data against a rate of 56.83 ± 18.65% obtained by ground measurement. The areas actually burned are of the order of 2.08 ± 1.02 times larger than the areas detected. The speed of fire propagation is 11 ± 1 cm/s in the Sudanian savannah and 9 ± 1 cm/s in the Guinean zone. The intensity of the fires is between 1184 ± 192 and 3207 ± 357 kW/m. These parameters are lower for early fires than for late and mid-season fires. Biomass is low in areas that are regularly burned (1034 ± 249 g/m²) compared to areas excluded from fires (1078 ± 275 g/m²). Iterative fires induced a loss of biomass of the order of 16 ± 12 to 69 ± 49 g/m² higher under Guinean than Sudanian climate. In total, 16015 ± 9627 t/year of herbaceous biomass is lost in the study area, i.e. 8008 ± 4750 t of carbon released. Sectoral interventions address fire management in a transversal manner without effective synergy. Actors are poorly informed about fire regulations and an annual deadline for the practice of early fires. The majority of actors are rural people with a low literacy rate and a high poverty index justifying the low level of their participation in fire management.

The effectiveness of fire management depends on a good understanding of the behavior of fires, their impacts on ecosystems and on the effective appropriation by actors of prevention and management tools. A systemic approach is becoming essential in the medium and long term. This approach will make it possible to bring fire management closer to integral human development through literacy, poverty reduction and the empowerment of local communities.