The political ecology of wildfires, at the intersection of climate change and landscape - A case study of rural Tuscany, Italy

Abstract: Wildfires are a climate change indicator whose increasing activity poses a threat to biodiversity and to ecosystem and human wellbeing. In the Mediterranean region, examination of the foundational drivers of intensifying wildfire regimes is necessary for the identification of sustainable wildfire mitigation measures. Literature review, semi-structured interviews, and focus group interviews with local municipal actors in wildfire mitigation are employed via a mixed-methods approach in this case study which examines the foundational, socioeconomic drivers of wildfires in Tuscany, Italy. A political ecology lens is applied to understand the modern Tuscan landscape as having been formed by historical interactions among power structures and political and market developments and conditions. Results demonstrate that while Tuscany is climatically predisposed to wildfire activity, historical processes of industrialization and commercialization have rendered the land more vulnerable to destruction by wildfire. Historically-informed and community-based approaches are recommended for sustainable wildfire prevention and mitigation.