Does the DR Need its Own Smokey Bear?

If you lived any time at all in the US, you doubtless have heard/seen and remember well (maybe even fondly) the public service ads (PSAs) of the character "Smokey Bear" (some say "Smokey the Bear") telling you, Joe Citizen, in that deep baritone of his that only YOU can prevent forest fires (nowadays he says "wildfires" instead of forest fires).



Those ads were effective, making people very aware that most forest fires are caused by humans and thus preventable.

The Need to Get the Word Out

Why am I discussing Smokey on a DR-related blog?

Because the DR's Environment Secretariat (SEMARENA) has just warned of the start of the second forest fire season of the year (the first -- and worst -- time of year for fires is February-April, click on chart at right for a month-to-month tally of fires over a recent 15-year period).  They ask the public to report any fires they spot (809-533-5183, extension 224, or if calling from the interior, 809-4300, ext. 286).

But for SEMARENA to truly get the word out, they need to do far more than publish a note on their website (many Dominicans do not have access to the internet, and among those that do, only a very limited number visit SEMARENA's site).  They should at least publish PSAs in all the local newspapers and magazines -- although most Dominicans do not read either type of publications. 

No, they should be peppering the airwaves -- putting out PSAs on TV and radio as much and as often as possible.

I've checked with many people (both Dominican and expat) I know across the DR (not just those in Santo Domingo) and no one recalls reading, hearing or viewing a fire prevention PSA now, or anytime recently for that matter.  If the Ministry has been informing the Dominican people about the dangers of wildfires and the need to report them, they haven't done so very effectively.

Why does getting the general public involved matter? 

Well, for one, the DR does not yet have enough rangers (yes, they exist) and fire watchtowers (yes, they're being built) yet to do the job alone.   But even if they had  as well-equipped a force as the US does, they still would need the help and vigilance of John Q. Public just as the US Forest Service and state forest services do.




Which is linked to reason #2.  Studies done for the Ministry find that only 3% of the DR's are from natural causes (principally lightning strikes).  The rest are man-made.  Chief among these are slash-and-burn agriculture, which alone accounts for some 85% of fires.  Another 5% are from human carelessness (discarded matches or cigarettes, unextinguished campfires or bonfires, etc.) and 5% are caused intentionally (arson).

Which means most are, in theory at least, preventable.  It takes a good (and constant and consistent) dose of public education, awareness and vigilance.  Even with that humans likely will remain the principal cuase of fires, but the number of fires and their impact can be substantially reduced.

At right is an example of the Ministry's past PSA.  Not bad, but is the bird as spokesperson as effective as Smokey?  I suspect not.

I'm not advocating that the DR adopt a bear as fire prevention spokesperson.  A bear doesn't seem appropriate for a tropical island nation.  But somehow a bird doesn't seem appropriate for firefighting.

What should the symbol be for the DR?  I'm afraid I don't have the marketing mindset or expertise ability to answer that.  But maybe one of our readers has a good idea they can share (comments to this post welcome - scroll down).

In the US, the Smokey PSAs were  developed through cooperation between government agencies and a private nonprofit entity known as the Ad Council.  The latter provides volunteer talent from ad agencies and media firms.  The Council has been reponsible for a number of successful PSA campaigns, such as the crying Indian (anti-litter), the Test Crash Dummies ("You Can Learn Alot from a Dummy" - about auto safety), McGruff the Crime Dog ("Take a Bite Out of Crime"), "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk," and "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" (for the United Negro College Fund).

If there's one thing the DR has quite alot of for a small island nation, it's ad, marketing and media firms.  Why can't that talent pool be tapped -- asked to help, or to take the initiative on their own, for the greater good of the country so many of them profess to love?  Why not form their own version of the Ad Council, and start with a fire prevention campaign (I would also love to see a concerted, creative and effective anti-litter campaign, but that's a discussion for another day).

I have voiced this idea to many of my friends residing in the DR, and nearly all say the Dominican media sector will never take on such a challenge pro bono -- that they only care if there's cash in it for them.  Are all Dominican businesspeople so mercenary and shortsighted?  What about the boost to their reputation from designing a well-known, well-respected PSA, and the new business that enhanced rep brings?

Why It Matters

While these days the DR has far fewer wildfires than they did in the 1960s (see chart at right), the numbers have been rising in recent years.  More importantly, the amount of acerage affected has increased.  [The blue bars in the graph represent number of fires reported, and the line of plotted points the area affected.]

Stopping and reversing the resurgence of wildfires is important for several reasons beyond just protecting the safety of people and the habitats of wildlife in the affected areas.  For one,  the fires can bring serious setbacks to the DR's efforts to check and turn back deforestation and soil degradation and to improve watershed management.  Yes, much of the underbrush will regrow, as will the trees eventually -- but it will take years and in the process lots of erosion can occur.


Second, there is the massive amounts of carbon released by burning the trees and scorching the soil, contributing to global climate change. 

Third, there is the air pollution created.  In some cases, this even can be funneled into the upper atmosphere and be transported into other regions -- a recent NASA study showed that fires in Mesoamerica had environmental impacts in the US.

Fourth, there is the threat to the very areas where the DR is trying to develop its nascient eco-tourism sector.  Check out the Ministry's map of the "zones of major incidence" for wildfires (click on image to see a larger version).  The major zones are indicated in pink; note that the biggest one overlays several of the country's most importance national parks and reserves, including the route up to Pico Duarte.

With that last thought I'll close with some photos provided by DR1 board participant Formosano, taken on his hike up to Pico Duarte a couple of years ago after the last big fire that passed through the route.