Presentation short abstract

The study examined fire governance in Northern Ghana using the ‘Livelihood as Intimate Government’ framework. The findings revealed that fire use is a negotiated practice, shaped by land tenure, property rights, gender, social hierarchies and overlapping, often competing authority structures

Presentation long abstract

In Africa, landscape burning by local communities is vital for rural livelihoods and wildfire risk management. While fire is widely recognised as a cultural practice and environmental management tool in rural communities, less attention has been given to the socio-political dynamics and everyday governance shaping its use. Drawing on livelihoods as an intimate government theory, this study uses focus group discussions, key informants and semi-structured interviews to examine how fire use in Northern Ghana is negotiated through self-governance and broader power structures.

The findings revealed that land tenure emerged as a key factor restricting fire use and decision-making, particularly among women and settled migrants. These restrictions formed part of the broader mechanisms for maintaining social hierarchies and territorial control in these communities. Moreover, women’s overwhelmingly domestic and reproductive responsibilities further limited their ability to participate fully in fire volunteering. At the community level, traditional authorities, particularly the Earth priest, shaped fire use in communal areas using spiritual and moral narratives to determine when to burn. Additionally, decentralised governance and participatory approaches in communities by state institutions and NGOs have produced competing and multiple forms of control. Both models compete to exert authority and determine who has the legitimacy to set fires and who is framed as a threat. While these competing power structures have contributed to changing fire regimes, they have reinforced marginalisation and deepened the politics of environmental stewardship in these communities. We argue that achieving inclusive fire governance requires confronting the embedded power dynamics within everyday livelihood practices.