Campaigns help curb veld fires

Lungelo Ndhlovu
AS the vegetation dries after the end of the summer rains, environmentalists are bracing themselves for another season of bushfires.
Poachers and people clearing land for agricultural purposes have been identified as the main culprits starting veld fires which destroy land and property.

In 2012, 1,320,325 hectares were destroyed by veld fire countrywide.
As part of efforts to raise awareness against veld fires, the National Fire Week was recently launched at Mahlothovu Primary School in uMguza District.

The National Fire Week is commemorated in the second Week of May each year and the theme for 2014 is “Save the environment prevent veld fires”.

Last year, seven cases of veld fires were recorded in Matabeleland North.
Veld fires are blazes that get out of control and become wild and in the process destroy large tracts of land or property, forests, grass land, animals and people’s homes.

Veld fires are prone especially in resettlement areas, where people tend to clear grass or plant residue in order to clear land for building or curing timber. The fires end up getting out of hand and burning huge tracts of land that wasn’t intended to be burnt.

For Zimbabwe, the fire season runs from July to October and last year the agricultural sector was faced with a plethora of challenges, including veld fires and change of weather which resulted in drought. For instance, in Matabeleland South, people lost livestock due to veld fires that destroyed the grazing land.

There are several factors that can cause veld fires but most are started by humans for various reasons such as reckless disposal of lit cigarette stubs; smoking out of bees for honey harvesting; lighting fires at road servitudes while waiting for early morning buses; land clearing; hunting; deliberate lighting of fires, children playing with matches and improper household ash disposal.

The Assistant Commissioner (Operations) in Matabeleland North, Daniel Chimwaza, said many people who start veld fires are not brought to book because villagers tend to side with them or simply say “a bird started that fire”.

“Everywhere in the country, we learn of veld fires destroying land or properties. What bothers us as ZRP is that people don’t have the knowledge regarding veld fires and that they should make reports about fire incidents to us.

“It is our duty as police to investigate and arrest people who cause veld fires. At times when we are called or attend on our own, when we see a burning bush we are faced with many challenges to establish the information on who might have started the fire.

“Someone will tell you “this fire was started by a bird” Some say “there is a certain bird which comes when there is fire. This bird is said to pick the burning grass from one area to another causing veld fires. It is surprising to hear such sentiments but people maintain such statements even though there are no such things. Yes we know birds might come to catch flying insects but they cannot start a fire,” said Chimwaza.

Frequent burning has implication on carbon stocks and emissions, wildlife habitat, human health and life as well as livelihoods. In Zimbabwe, it is now commonly agreed that veld fires are a single significant threat to national economic recovery plans as they are destroying not only pastures necessary for the restocking exercise, but they are also destroying foreign currency generation plantations.

Food security may be compromised as the last few years have seen fires burning wheat farms, maize fields among other valuables.Veld fires are not only a problem in Zimbabwe alone but throughout Africa and the world in general.

Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007 as read with Environmental Management Act (CAP 20:27), states that no person is allowed to light a fire outside residential and commercial premises during the period July 31 to October 31 of each year.

“Although we have a challenge as police regarding the veld fire issues, we have conducted awareness campaigns to encourage communities to report cases of fire. In 2013 we got few incidents of veld fires but a lot of land was destroyed.

“Seven cases were reported to us in Mat North Province. In Hwange District, we got one report and this incident happened along Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road in Gwayi area on October 17. The case of the fire was deliberate lighting.

“We managed to apprehend the culprit and these were tourists who had dumped a smouldering cigarette stub to the ground leading to the damage of a huge area. Two culprits were arrested and we charged them under EMA Act.

“In Lupane District, four reports were recorded. The first one happened in Jabatshaba Village, Jotsholo.There was fire and the cause was hunting. On September 30 in Musebele Village, Jotsholo, we received another report and the cause was also hunting. The people who caused these fires are poachers not licensed hunters.

“On October 28, 2013 in Nyamandlovu, Village 1 B Spring Range, a veld fire was recorded and the cause of it was land clearing, in preparation for the ploughing season but failed to control the fire leading to the damage.

“On May 12, 2014 in Tsholotsho, Sekesa Area, a report of veld fire was made to the police. The cause of that fire was land clearing, where people were working on their fields burning plant residue.”

In Victoria Falls District, police recorded one report on August 23 in Matetsi Unit 2, again this fire was caused by poachers and the area damaged was 10 square kilometres and in Nkayi district, there was one report in Inyathi caused by land clearing.

So far ZRP has conducted 350 fire campaigns in Matabeleland North and have formed firefighting committees to curb fire outbreaks. The police force is encouraging community members to join them in order to reduce veld fires in this region.

“We so far have eight firefighting committees in Mat North and they are very effective in putting out fires whenever there is an outbreak,” said Chimwaza.

Ward 9 Councillor for uMguza, Sibongile Mnkandla, revealed that veld fires are a serious challenge in her area and commended EMA’s effort to launch a fire campaign in her area, saying it would go a long way in reducing veld fires.

“At the end of 2013, there is a certain lady who burnt down 22 field hedges. That fire destroyed a lot of grazing land and other people’s fields.

“After that incident, helped by EMA people, we are now teaching and encouraging communities not to start veld fires and since then communities have started building fire guards around their properties and fields,” she said.

Property owners and farmers are required to construct standard fireguards which are at least nine metres wide on boundaries and internal fire guards which should be at least 4,5 metres wide. Fireguards can be constructed by ploughing using ox-drawn ploughs or tractors, disking, hoeing.

Owners should always inspect fireguards to make sure that they are free of any material that burns. Fireguards are important because they break fire by removing the fuel load from the fire triangle.

Farmers should always ensure that firefighting equipment is in place, bowsers/knapsack sprayers filled with water during the fire season.
EMA also requires people to report all fire incidences to the nearest ZRP or EMA offices within seven working days.

EMA’s Matabeleland North provincial manager Ms Chipo-Zuze Mpofu highlighted that veld fires fighting should be every community’s duty to conserve the environment.