adminWhat are veld fires?
These are blazes that get out of control and become wild, and in the process destroy extensive tracts of forests, grasslands, animals, people and their properties. There is great concern about the frequency; extent and pattern of burning being attributed to human activities.
It is a fact that the damage from these fires has grown to outweigh the benefits of fire on the ecosystem. Frequent burning has implication on carbon stocks and emissions, wildlife habitat, human health and life as well as livelihoods.
Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecosystems Regulations, Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007 states that, in Zimbabwe no person is allowed to light a fire outside residential and commercial premises during the period July 31 to October 31 of each year.
This period has been stipulated as the fire season. It marks the beginning of the dry season where fire outbreaks are common to the onset of the earlier rains.
Causes of fires
There are several factors that cause veld fires but most are human ignitions resulting from:
- 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/arson
- Children playing with matches
- Improper household ash disposal
Effects of veld fires
Veld fires lead to severe environmental degradation. More specifically, veld fires reduce land cover thus exposing the land to agents of accelerated soil erosion, changes in the hydrological cycle, increase in overland flow or surface run off and modifications in various ecological processes. Soil erosion leads to siltation of rivers and dams thus reducing their water carrying capacity. This is likely to induce floods in low-lying areas.
Veld fires destroy plantations, crops and pastures. 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.
The majority of the victims were aged between 2-5 years and above 70 years.
Veld fires and stakeholders
Each person or institution has a role to play in the fight against veld fires and the following can be of importance to prevent veld fires, damage of the environment as well as loss of life and property.
School children
In the event that school children come across fire:
- Quickly report the incident to any nearby adult person.
- Do not attempt to cross over fire, “crossing over fire may result in fatalities”.
- Do not try to extinguish a veld fire on your own
- Move away from the veld fire and never ever try to climb trees in the direction of a veldt fire
Bus passengers
Travelling can at times be done during the odd hours when the weather is very cold especially in the rural areas. These conditions make passengers make a fire at the bus stop for warmth. Therefore, before leaving:
- Make sure you completely extinguish the fire
- Make sure all the glowing splints and burning coal are completely extinguished using water.
- Put on warm clothes because history has shown that most road fires are left unattended.
Bee smokers
- Use other methods of extracting honey which do not involve the use of fire
- Seek advice from Forestry Commission.
Motorists
- Put off cigarette stubs and use ash trays.
- Assist in fire fighting and always travel with a fire extinguisher.
- Service car electrical and mechanical systems to avoid sparks which can cause veldt fires
Traditional leaders
- Have fire fighting teams to put off uncontrolled veld fires in your areas of jurisdiction.
- Carry out fire awareness campaigns throughout the fire season
- Use cultural ways of punishing those who cause veld fires.
Rural District Councils
- Establish an environmental committee to oversee environmental issues
- Establish environmental sub–committees which are chaired by a councillor in a given ward or wards.
- Appoint an environmental monitor in the district in conjunction with EMA
- Ensure that there are fire fighting committees in these various wards
- Report all veld fire incidences within seven working days to EMA or ZRP.
Farmers/Property owners
Fire prevention is the best option to minimise risks associated with veld fires. This can be achieved through establishment and maintenance of fireguards.
Fireguards are designed to provide access and a safe environment for the fire fighting teams to implement controlled burning and effectively manage wild fires.
The existing roads and tracks also provide the foundation to implement fire management activities.
- Construct standard fireguards which are at least 9m wide on boundaries and internal fire guards which should be at least 4,5m wide.
- Fireguards can be constructed by ploughing using ox-drawn ploughs or tractors, disking, hoeing.
- Always inspect your 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.
- Ensure that fire fighting equipment is in place, bowzers/knapsack sprayers filled with water during the fire season.
- Report all fire incidences to the nearest ZRP or EMA offices within 7 working days.
- Always listen to the weather personnel on the fire danger index.
The second week of May each year has been set aside by the Government of Zimbabwe as the National Fire Week launch in order to raise awareness on fire management issues.
If only the above stakeholders could take heed of the above advice, EMA hopes and trusts that there will be a reduction in the occurrences of veld fires in the country.Reduction of veld fire management is therefore, everyone’s responsibility, so play your part.
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