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The fire season is here. Is your community ready?
What 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 31 July to 31 October of each
year.

This period is 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 and 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.
Veldt 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.

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 veldt fire on your own
Move away from the veldt 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 veldt fires in your areas of jurisdiction.
Carry out fire awareness campaigns throughout the fire season
Use cultural ways of punishing those who cause veldt 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.

For feedback and comments email: [email protected] , Toll free 08080028, 04 305543 0r SMS/Whatsapp: 0779 777 094.