Veld fires claim 3 lives, US$300 000 property

03 Nov, 2024 - 00:11 0 Views
Veld fires claim 3 lives, US$300 000 property

Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter

THREE lives were lost while over US$300 000 worth of property was destroyed by veld fires, which affected key economic sectors such as agriculture, energy and power, tourism, plantations and communication infrastructure.

The loss of land to the fires has increased by 19.28 percent in 2024.
In an update released on Friday, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) Environmental Education and Publicity Manager, Mrs Amkela Sidange, said the rise in veld fire land loss has exacerbated the already drought-affected ecosystem due to the El Niño phenomenon, leading to reduced ecological services and goods.

EMA Flag

Since the onset of the veld fire restriction period from July 1 to October 25, 2024, a cumulative area of 925 139.9 hectares has been burnt from 4 355 fire incidences marking a stark increase compared to the same period in 2023, when 775 617.56 hectares were burnt from 3 154 incidences.

“A total of US$327 472 worth of property has been cumulatively lost from key economic sectors such as agriculture, tourism, plantations and the communication sector. To date, 25 dockets on veld fire-related offences have been opened to allow offenders to be held accountable for the violations,” said Mrs Sidange.

She added, “The veld fire land loss has increased by 19.28 percent in 2024, thus further stressing the already El Niño drought-impacted ecosystem, resulting in subdued ecological services and goods from the same. The analysis of the average area burnt per incident is lower at 110.16 hectares in 2024 compared to 358.46 hectares in 2023.”

Mrs Sidange emphasised the need for stakeholders to adopt a whole-of-Government approach to increase awareness around veld fire management, particularly focusing on prevention efforts.
Regarding human loss, she noted that three lives were lost this year.

“EMA, working with partners, will continue to raise awareness on veld fire management while simultaneously enforcing the law,” she stressed.
“The fire risk modelling revealed that the country is generally at medium (18.6 percent) to high risk (55.71 percent) for veld fires in 2024.

A veld fire rages in this file photo

“The low-risk zones cover 12.42 percent, while areas at extreme risk of veld fires make up 13.27 percent of the country. The provinces highly exposed are Mashonaland West, Central, East, as well as Manicaland.”
In response to the crisis, a total of 1 228 681 hay bales were harvested to protect 16 584 hectares, and 6 496.5 kilometres of cumulative fireguards were constructed, safeguarding 1  500 557 hectares nationwide.

Additionally, a total of 208 925 thatch grass bundles were harvested, protecting 4 629.5 hectares and cumulatively, a total of 1 271 beehives were set up in woodlands as part of fire management by farmers,” outlined Mrs Sidange.
The collaboration among the Ministries of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development and Environment, Climate, and Wildlife is being enhanced to save the environment, protect agricultural produce, livestock and essential infrastructure.

“This strengthened partnership promotes sustainable practices that safeguard natural resources, property and livelihoods while enhancing agricultural productivity and resilience against fires,” she added. —@nyeve14

Share This: