The wetlands are vital natural ecosystems that provide a wide range of essential services. These include regulating water systems, serving as habitats for migratory species to land, nest, and reproduce, and contributing to climate regulation by acting as carbon sinks. Consequently, wetlands are critical in preserving biodiversity and enhancing human well-being worldwide. Tropical wetlands, particularly those in seasonal regions, can occasionally experience fire events. This creates an intriguing paradox, as wetlands are generally perceived as water-dominated ecosystems with species adapted to flooding, such as plants with mechanisms to endure waterlogging or animals capable of migrating within flood-prone areas. The flood pulse, being relatively predictable, has driven the evolution of these adaptations in many species. However, when fire is introduced into these environments, it adds an additional stressor to the ecosystem. This dual challenge—flooding and fire—poses extreme survival tests for the biota, potentially driving further adaptations, such as thick tree bark to resist fire or behavioral changes in animals to evade flames and exploit burned areas.  Consequently, the biota in these ecosystems is uniquely adapted to navigate these opposing forces. Unfortunately, climate change and shifting patterns of human activity are altering fire regimes, increasing the prevalence of megafires. These large-scale fires devastate biodiversity, ecosystem services, human health, and local economies. Particularly vulnerable are fire-sensitive wetlands like the Igapós and Várzeas of the Amazon. In addition to climatic factors, inadequate fire management and policy frameworks exacerbate the issue. Understanding how fire impacts wetlands is therefore crucial for their conservation. This session aims to explore cutting-edge knowledge about the resilience of biota in fire-dependent and fire-independent wetlands, examining their capacity to withstand fire and flooding. It will also discuss strategies for managing these ecosystems to prevent megafires, the broader impacts of megafires on human health and economies, and the role of traditional knowledge in wetland fire management. The session will primarily focus on wetlands in the Global South, extending insights to other fire-dependent systems. Building on a workshop conducted at the last meeting in Rwanda, which culminated in a collaborative manuscript now nearing submission to Biotropica, this symposium will present new findings on the combined effects of fire and innovative fire management strategies. We believe this topic will significantly interest ATBC attendees, as the increasing frequency of megafires in wetlands presents an urgent challenge with limited existing literature. We aim to inspire tropical scientists to deepen their research into these special ecossistems.