The silvicultural production of planted forests has its maximum productive potential expressed through optimal biotic and abiotic situations. There are aspects of this chain that are not entirely manageable, especially the different climatic characteristics. When evaluating the manageable factors, we are faced with conditions that may limit the achievement of the so-called attainable productivity of the forest stand.

These factors involve the technological management of the forest, that is, the adoption of the most appropriate technical recommendations for management and allocation of genetic material for each edaphoclimatic situation, as well as the quality of execution of these recommendations. Once the effectiveness of such factors is guaranteed, success for high- performance forests is still not guaranteed. It is necessary to ensure forest protection, against factors that may significantly limit the supply of future wood, such as the occurrence of pests and diseases and forest fires.

Prevention, monitoring and fighting forest fires have always been an important highlight on the agenda of forest asset managers. In addition to an immediate financial loss, the reduction in the supply of future wood generates financial impacts that can also be measured in a longer horizon, when it is necessary to replace this source of raw material.

We can also mention measurable impacts, which also have a relevant place on the managers' agenda, related to environmental, social and corporate governance practices. There is a growing concern among consumers, clients and various agents in society regarding the environmental impacts arising from forest fires, which can even bring about reactions related to the brand of the enterprise.

Given the relevance of the theme and its clear connection with the business strategy, forest fire prevention management deserves adequate emphasis in the planning and organization of activities. And, at Suzano, it is no different: guided by the culture that it is only good for us if it is good for the world, the theme management process throughout the company seeks to ensure the best management practices with a focus on preserving the environment. environment and the protection of communities surrounding its operations.

To ensure the success of this agenda, the company's experience is based on three main pillars: the adoption of technologies to guarantee the best resources for monitoring and fighting fires, managing the theme as a productive process and the regional strengthening of partnerships with public and private institutions. For the first pillar, Suzano invests significantly in the adoption of technologies already consolidated for the sector and continues to contribute resources to the development of new solutions.

We operate in all our forestry sites with monitoring cameras that help us in detecting occurrences. We have 129 towers equipped with cameras in Brazil, and in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, there are currently 21 of them, with plans to expand to 30 towers in 2023. These structures are equipped with high-resolution cameras that monitor a radius average of 15 kilometers with 360 degree coverage; some also have repeaters that help with radio communication at our base.

This entire structure is linked to closed circuit TV centers, with an internal monitoring system, in which it is possible to monitor the forest 24 hours a day, alerting to possible occurrences, with maximum agility. Once any situation is detected, an already established protocol is followed for activating the immediate response teams for verification, validation and sizing of the necessary structure, which can vary from water trucks containing foam-generating liquid), manual teams, machines and, ultimately, the use of aircraft.

More recently, we have been testing technologies for early identification of outbreaks, for example, using satellite images. Technologies like this emerge as an alternative for medium and small producers and for forest bases in expansion, situations in which there are certain limitations for organizing a structure the size of a closed circuit TV. However, a great evolution of these solutions is still necessary to guarantee better detection assertiveness and decrease the response time of events, a primordial factor for the success of an effective combat.

We cannot fail to mention the importance of a network of alerts through neighbors, communities and employees, great partners in the process. The second pillar is based on managing these activities as any other productive process, generating indicators, setting goals, measuring performance and systematically evaluating continuous improvements.

Suzano organizes this process with operational managers at each site, who manage the entire structure and process locally, with matrix reporting to a corporate cell, linked to the asset intelligence area, which develops a system for sharing best practices between the different regions, the standardization of tasks and indicators and the development of new technologies and management tools.

Specific indicators are managed, such as the workforce involved, response time by municipality, type of area affected, cause of occurrence, average travel time, combat time, average response time, disbursement made, among others, which are shared and managed for continuous improvement.

Constant training and qualification of brigade members are also mandatory disciplines, in order to prepare the teams as much as possible for real combat situations. Such training is not limited only to the forestry team, mobilizing and engaging the entire operational team of the other processes to act, once the intervention is necessary, ensuring that it happens with maximum efficiency and safety.

The third pillar, from a more institutional perspective, seeks to regionally strengthen alliances between different agents against a common enemy. The benefits are multiple, the possibilities for synergies are diverse: the composition of multidisciplinary teams tends to build more robust plans, to enable more comprehensive and therefore effective communications, and even to share certain expenses that may be necessary for greater investments in more critical periods.

At Suzano de Mato Grosso do Sul, our fire prevention “ecosystem” is led by the Sul Matogrossense Association of producers and consumers of planted forests (Reflore), which, through its management, is an important mediating and facilitating agent in dialogues with public authorities, which enables the creation of important partnerships and agendas. It also acts as an aggregator agent between the different players regional, acting as a catalyst for promoting partnerships in sharing resources and monitoring networks among its members.

Like the threats of pests and diseases, forest fires also do not respect the “fences” of borders between different producers. Mutual support, sharing information and experiences and strengthening regional alliances are extremely important aspects for the success of this theme. This cooperative formation with a common objective also brings, as benefits, an important sectoral positioning to society, externalizing all the robustness and professionalization that we have in the preservation of natural resources.

Key points, such as connectivity and new technologies, must always be on the radar, so that we can keep up with the dynamics of change, without losing efficiency and execution . Solutions such as 5G internet, mobile telephony, digital radio and satellite telephony need to be increasingly accessible and inexpensive.