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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) is rolling out a number of initiatives countrywide to minimise the effects of veld fires which have become a perennial problem.

In a statement last week, the agency’s Environmental Education and Publicity Manager Ms Amkela Sidanke said the quest to preserve and maintain a safe environment needed collective efforts.

She said they had roped in a number of stakeholders, among them traditional leaders in their bid to reduce veld fires in the 2019 fire season.

Ms Sidanke said the fire season starts from 31 July, ending on 31 October yearly.

“It is unfortunate that the country has since lost 407 802.18 hectares from 1416 fires incidences as at 30 July 2019, which is before onset of the fire season,” she said.

“Mashonaland West province suffered the highest loss of 241 420.13 hectares from 713 fire incidences, followed by Mashonaland Central at 52 830 hectares from 62 fire incidences.

“During the same period last year, 289 809,81 hectares were lost to veld fires. Veld fires have become one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, causing so much destruction to Zimbabwe’s natural resources, property and human life.”

Ms Sidanke said since 2005, the country has lost 122 lives, with eight of these dying in 2018.

She said some of the programmes EMA was rolling out include; construction of fire guards, law enforcement, awareness campaigns, bee farming projects, drawing up fire management plans from village level, fire risk assessment and hay bailing/thatch grass combing projects among others.

Ms Sidanke said some of the drivers of veld fires were early drying of the veld, suppressed rains in the 2018/19 rainy season and general shifts in seasons associated with climate change.

“We have been hard on the ground in terms of law enforcement, she said. So far 64 orders were served to landowners (individual and communities) by 30 June 2019, to remind them to construct fireguards before onset of rainy season.

“In addition, there is need for all landowners to take precaution during this fire season to prevent veld fires which for years now have continued to negatively impact on our socio-economic and biophysical realms.” Ms Sidanke said it was important for landowners to ensure their properties were protected from veld fires with standard fireguards.

She said communities should have fire-fighting teams at village or farm levels and always keep ready firefighting equipment to extinguish fires, be alert for fire outbreaks and participate in extinguishing fires.

Ms Sidanke said the current fire was medium (65,6 percent), high (24,8 percent) and extreme risk (4,04 percent)