The development of the Fire Management Action Plan
will provide the basis for a more structured and coordinated
approach to fire management within the MMNR. However, MMNR
management will require information on the impacts of the action
plan’s implementation in order to ascertain the effectiveness
of the revised fire management and control practices. As a first
step towards achieving this, the geographical and temporal
distribution of all incidences of fire in the MMNR will be mapped
and recorded. This could potentially incorporate both data
collected on the ground, using a handheld GPS, and remote sensing
data, such as that provided by the University of Maryland through
the Fire Information for Resource Management System, or the MODIS
Rapid Response System under NASA. This information will then be
consolidated and periodically updated in order to provide MMNR
managers with a clear picture of any geographic and temporal trends
in unprescribed fires in the MMNR, and to help inform management
responses and any adaptations necessary. This Action will be linked
to the development and implementation of the MMNR Ecological
Monitoring Plan (discussed under the final section of this
programme).
