adminMANICALAND is exposed to increasing levels of disaster risk due to rampaging veld fires that are ravaging its breadth and length.
The wild fires are a common feature and are an inevitable consequence of a combination of fire-prone vegetation, warm dry climate and unscrupulous human elements that wantonly ignite these fires. These infernos have resulted in a disastrous loss of natural grazing lands, livestock, plantations, the valuable ecosystem and in some instances human life.
Since the inception of the fire season, at least 20 000 hectares of land, in Manicaland, was ravaged and left without vegetative cover.
The vastness of land falling prey to the evil of uncontrolled infernos is likely to spiral up if nothing is done to reverse the current trajectory where it has become a common feature, daily, to bump into a piece of land completely gutted by the fire with surrounding communities doing nothing to get control over the flames.
While priority must be to reduce the risk of wild fires as well as preparedness to fight for them, our observation shows that we are still very far away from winning the war to combat these disastrous fires.
Vast tracts of land stretching from Rusape to Mutare, Nyanga to Mutare, Nyanga to Rusape, Rusape to Marondera, Mutare to Birchenough Bridge as well as plantations in Nyanga, Chimanimani, Makoni, Odzi and Mutasa are now barren after vegetation was incinerated in the uncontrollable infernos. The situation is akin in many parts of the country.
These fire incidents are synonymous with hunting expeditions, improvement of grazing land, arson, smoking out bees during harvesting of wild honey and carelessness such as throwing out lit cigarettes on dry grass.
It is now commonly agreed that veld fires are one significant threat to national economic recovery plans as they are destroying not only pastures necessary for the restocking of the national herd, but they are also devouring foreign currency generation plantations and national parks and other scenic environs that attract tourists. The veld fires are also a threat to household food and nutritional security as they at times burn cereal grain crops like wheat and maize, among other valuables. This problem has reached alarming proportions.
Our forests are on the verge of extinction.
Even commendable efforts by Nyaradzo Funeral Services, the Forestry Commission and other stakeholders that have embarked on a serious re-forestation exercise to save the fast-depleting forests, risks come to naught if we as a nation, failed to say enough was enough and come up with an effective strategy to combat the fires.
Surely, Zimbabwe cannot afford to continue losing lives and property to these fires. We commend the police for pledging to assist in combating the vice. Let us help and not fight them. It is for community’s good that they have chipped in to take corrective measures. But to achieve the intended results, our attitudes as community, must change. We must avoid negligence.
Every responsible person must play a part.
We need to educate each other and comply with the provision of Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007 in the Environmental Management Act (CAP 20:27) that dictates that “no person is allowed to light a fire outside residential and commercial premises during period 31 July to 31 October of each year.”
The law that makes it a punishable offence to start wild fires and we must oblige.
We wish to highlight the fact that it is an offence for passersby, be they motorists or not, not to stop and help put out veld fires. This provision is intended to drill in us a sense of responsible citizenship and collective responsibility to Zimbabweans. We also appeal to individual land owners where there is a risk of veld fire to take minimum precautions to prevent and combat veld fires.
It is also our call to EMA that effective management of veld fires requires organization, strategy, plan, information, networks and equipment that can seldom be provided adequately by any land owner. We need to reinvent the wheel should need be, to do away with retarded strategies while inventing new ones because we cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes as a nation. EMA should provide an effective springboard for co-operation and coordination between farmers and other role players involved in veld fire management.
Online Reporter