We’re burning a forest… to stop wildfires

The future forest of La Mosqueria is on fire. And this used to be one of the most important forests in Central America. Now a lot of it has turned into barren savanna, stuck in the cycle of fires that keep coming back every year. That's where the Pascaya project comes in, with support from the Ecosia community. Because to restore this land, you first have to stop the fires. But to get the forest back, we'll have to burn it. My name is Leo, and I'm going to explain more. La Mosqueria sits in northeastern Honduras, cut off from the rest of the country by jungle. It's one of the most remote places in Central America. To get here, you either fly in on small planes, or spend days in wooden canoes up winding rivers. We're heading out to a small village a couple of hours into the countryside. And already on the way here, you see areas that have burnt just recently. Most fires are man-made and start close to roads and tracks where people travel, either from cooking, smoking or kids playing. So the kids apparently found a snake, and that's why they're burning the ground. I mean, it's easy to see how this could get out of control. It's not good. In the dry season, a single fire can raise across huge stretches of land in no time. So this is what happens when you don't protect the savanna. The big pines can survive these fires, but the young trees, they have no chance. And when this happens year after year, the forest just can't come back. There's no electricity, no running water. Most of the indigenous Mesquite community survive by hunting and growing rice and beans. But the loss of trees leaves the region more exposed to extreme weather. And one badly timed storm can threaten the food supply for the whole year. All of these issues lead back to the lost forest. And that's why the Pascaya project started, to create jobs and get the forest back. The team here today is our technician. Hello, hello. McLean. To make sure everyone's involved, you first need a lot of meetings. One way to stop fires from spreading is fire breaks. By clearing wide enough lanes with nothing left to burn, it's possible to stop fires from spreading. So far, the community has created kilometers of fire breaks, surrounding and running through the protected area. But if a fire gets too big or starts inside, it still needs to be put out. So the community formed a brigade, rotating the members to offer jobs to as many as possible. We just got word that there's a fire. We don't have much. Else information. But we picked up the fire brigade and we're going towards the fire and try to help out. It's still in the same compound, so we need to put out the fire. The fire can spread very, very, very rapidly. So to make sure the protected area stays safe, we run straight towards the flames. With no water nearby, the brigade uses rubber mats to smother the flames. But the wind keeps shifting. And when the flames reach too high, you can only stand back. Firing tirelessly, we walked the front lines for hours. And at times, I didn't know if we'd make it. But at last, the final flame was put out. And it wasn't all bad. Once a patch has burned, there's little left to feed the fire. So it's less likely to catch again. Which leaves one question. How does the forest actually come back? Yeah, wow. It looks super dry, but it still comes up. Yes, but something that I love about these fishes is that they are so adapted to this kind of soil. So they really work. As long as a few big pines are left standing, they spread their seeds naturally. The problem is that when it burns every year, the young trees are killed. And it takes years before a tree is tall enough to survive a fire. The brigade realized that they can burn the ground themselves before the dry season, when it's easier to control the fire. That way, it's possible to burn the whole landscape around the protected sites, turning it into one big extra fire break. So one of the most effective ways to fight the fires is the fire itself. But there's even more to it. So fire isn't just bad. At the right time, fire is actually how the forest comes back, all on its own. But working out here isn't always that smooth. We pushed for hours, but the car only sank deeper. We were starting to get really afraid we'd have to spend the night out here. At last, we had to accept we wouldn't make it on our own. We needed help. So we lit the fire, and we waited. And then, out of the dark, a whole village showed up. Finally, we were free. And that's the same way the people here came together to bring their forest back. I can't wait to show you the first protected areas. But before that, let's hear what the project has meant for the people here. Now that the project isn't coming, I'm going to close it like a chainsaw, when it's this long. But it's only for a week. When it's only for a week, I'll get some money to take it to my family to buy the shoes, maybe a notebook, or a backpack. I didn't have... I didn't have bicycles for security, most of all. We know that today we have a more complete team. We have a suit, boots, we have vests, we have materials to fight the fire. We also have materials to make the rounds. So we, as people, or as members of the community, are seeing that this is an achievement that has never been done before. And it's working. A few years in, the savannah is in peril. This is just so cool. Now we're in Paskaya forest. We're driving in a new, young forest. Just three years ago, all of this was burnt grassland. Now we're in a new, young forest. Now I'm standing in a young forest. Without the fire breaks and the fire brigade, this forest would not have come back. This is one of the first sites Paskaya protected. And now, thanks to funding from the Ecosia community, we can protect even more land. And in a couple of years, the Ecosia site, with 150,000 new trees, will look just like this. I recorded the sound of the barren savannah and also the new, young forest. You can even hear how the landscape is coming back to life. And you can check it out on Paskaya's channel. We've talked to our colleagues about imagining the paved streets. I'm 46 years old, but I don't see another year. Maybe another month, I'll die. But if my grandchildren come, if there are forests. It's here. This isn't just about fire or forests. It's about people having the chance to restore what they've lost. Projects like this only work because local communities are leading the way. But they can't do it alone. Thanks to Ecosia users, work like this is being funded in places most of us will never see. Supporting communities that are protecting and restoring their land. So this isn't just their story. It's all of ours. Fish in the river, dried up long ago. A place long forgotten, a story untold. And yet there are many calling this home.