Guard against veld fires

Background of study

Fires are a natural phenomenon if started by lightning. However, human

beings account for 95 per cent of forest and veld (savannah) fires. On
average, fires burn millions of hectares of forest and grassland per year
worldwide. In 2002, 350 million hectares of land was burnt worldwide,
while in 2003, in Europe alone, 700 000 hectares were burnt. (FAO) Most
fires occur during the fire season. Natural fires fires not influenced directly
or indirectly by humans have become rare. It is only in uninhabited
areas of boreal forest (tall trees such as birch and spruce growing in
extremely cold climates) and tundra, such as in Russia and Alaska, those
fires are caused by heavy lightning. Fires are also a natural phenomenon
in dry forests; however, most are ignited by humans. It is estimated that
only 1-5 per cent of fires in the Mediterranean countries of Europe now
start through natural causes Wildfires occur in South and Central
America, Russia, the Mediterranean, sub-Saharan Africa, the United States,
Australia and South-East Asia. Fires are responsible for much destruction
in Southern
Africa. Some 30 million hectares of savannah and grasslands burn
annually in Africa south of the equator (to give you an idea of how
much land this is; South Africa covers an area of 122 million hectares!!!).
The region's heaviest burning is concentrated in the moist subtropical
belt that includes Angola, the southern Congo, Zambia, northern
Mozambique, and southern Tanzania. In an effort to try and balance the
positive and negative effects of fires in southern Africa, several countries
have come together to form SAFNet (Southern African Fire Network). The
membership of SAFNet is drawn from managers of national parks,
government forest fire sectors, regional NGOs, community based
organizations, independent consultants, university and research bodies in
southern Africa. Veld fires outbreaks in Southern Africa result mainly
from land use activities such as land clearing, hunting, pasture

management and crop production. This contributes to a significant

proportion of land degradation and greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Furthermore, fire destroys resources needed for immediate use over the
dry season, crops, livestock, grazing land and even human beings.
Frequent, hot fires may have long-term effect on the reproductive
capacity of important veld products. Bush (veld) or Wild Fire is an
extremely powerful and destructive phenomenon which occurs with
significant frequency and intensity on many continents and in many
countries. Left unchecked, these wildfires can cause widespread
destruction and damage affecting economic sustainability and productivity
for entire regions or peoples. Southern Africa is no exception in this
regard and the responsibility for safety and management of this
phenomenon rests with every individual living or working in and
traversing areas prone to wild fires. Veld fires outbreaks in Southern
Africa result mainly from land use activities such as land clearing,
hunting, pasture management and crop production. This contributes to a
significant proportion of land degradation and greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere. Furthermore, fire destroys resources needed for immediate
use over the dry season, crops, livestock, grazing land and even human
beings. Frequent, hot fires may have long-term effect on the reproductive
capacity of important veld products. One of the major problems facing our
planet is the disappearance of soil. Every year, 11 million hectares of arable
lands are lost through desertification, chemicals and converting croplands for
development through fires or other means. Poor farming communities use fire
as a management tool because it is cheap, simple to apply and sometimes the
only option available. Despite often being aware of the damage that slash and
burn farming does, poor people feel there is no other short-term option. Using
fire to clear land for planting is age old the problem is the scale on which it is
happening is affecting the climate and rainfall patterns and destroying the soil.
Where trees have been cut down, rain no longer falls; and rivers become silted
up. With no cover on the earth, the soil is depleted of nutrients and becomes
less fertile. Wild fires also contribute significant amounts of greenhouse gases
and particulates to the atmosphere. It is not only the poor who are responsible
for wildfires. In extensive farming, farmers often clear huge tracts of land by
burning to prepare them to raise cattle because this is a cheap and quick way
of doing it. Wild fire protection like the construction of fire guards can be
introduced so as to reduce the spread of the veldfires.
Statement of problem
Veld fires are destroying Mayo area. Therefore the villagers are left with
less, damaged or no faming land. Im therefore going to launch an
investigation into veld fire causes and their effects in that area.

Definition of terms
Veld-A general term used to refer to natural vegetation in Zimbabwe.

Veldfire-A veldfire burning in natural vegetation or plantations.

Wildfire-A veldfire, started unintentionally, through natural causes

(lightning or rolling rocks), or be human ignition but is burning out of
control.

Firebreak-A natural or man-made feature of low fire hazard (e.g. a sand

dune field, the coastline, a cliff or a ploughed or fallow agricultural field
(also see control

Fire Season-That time of the year when most veldfires. In Limpopo this
is roughly between 1 May and 30 October

Literature review
According to Prosper and Williams 1998 and Chafer 2007 veld fires had
greater effects on soil erosion. Different soil types vary markedly in their
ability to absorb and store water. In forests accumulated litter provides a
protective cover of all soil types and this cover assists main infiltration by
maintaining a crumbly texture at the soil surface. The litter also impedes
and traps soil particularly dislodged rainfall and surface wash off. After
fire destruction of the lighter layer, it will lead to reduced infiltration and
much higher wash off of soil particles, organic matter, nutrients and ash
into streams.

According to Anderson 1997 rates of wash off are increased if the soil
surface layer is water repellent. It commonly develops in soils with high
organic matter context and is associated biological (probably funyal)
activity. It tends to occur during droughts and some soils are always
hydrophobic when they are dry. In unburnt forests we rarely see the
effects of hydrophobicity on surface wash off because root holes, large
holes associated with soil fauna, stoney ground and variation in micro-
topography maintains easy entry of rainfall in the soil. After fires
hydrophobicity effects sometimes becomes evident, may effectively
prevent local infiltration. This behaviour may persist for weeks or months
after the fire and disappear only after the soil profile becomes wetted by
prolonged rain.

Anderson 1997 states that fires have been causing damages in plant
roots, lowering the patterns of seed production, seed germination and
veld destruction. More so according to the empirical literature, costs of
veld fires are related to environment and by this way on the economy
and human beings. Uncontrollably burning leads to reduction in
biodiversity, destruction of flora and fauna, reduction of soil fertility,
increased erosion and soil compaction that increases surface runoff
thereby decreasing infiltration. All this reduces water needed to recharge
ground water sources. The clearance of basal cover accelerates soil
erosion leading to siltation of water bodies; this in turn translates to
reduce water for livestock and irrigation. Thus the effects of veld fires
are cumulative and touch the entire biosphere. However it should be
noticed that these negative are strongly dependant on change in
frequency, timing, intensity changes in fire require (frost 1991)

According to environmental Africa 2009 some 30mollion hectares of

savannah and grasslands burn annually in Africa. According to Mkwananzi
2009 human beings are responsible for 95 per cent forest and veld fires,
natural fires (not directly influenced by humans) have become rare.
According to (tsiko 2006) veld fires are the most widespread ecological
disturbances in Zimbabwe and they are most pronounced in winter and
before the onset of the first rains when the forests would be dry and
highly inflammable.

According to Waugh 2002 forest fires may result in death and injury to
the people who cannot escape its smoke and heat, destruction of
buildings their contents and other tangible property, temporary or
permanent closure of business loss of income and possible bankruptcy
and destruction of irreplaceable reminders of human heritage if not
properly managed

However on the positive side, veld fires contribute to the regeneration

cycle of plants, trees and grass. New grass provides better nutrition to
live stock. In addition controlled burning contributes to the fertility of soil
before planting even though some nutrients may evaporate during
burning. There is also the argument that fire is generally cheaper and
easier to use than any other land management tool, more so if the
broader environment costs are discounted. Frost (1991) noted that the
problem is not usually one of the occurrences of fire intensity and
extreme of burning that is the problem, in other words change in fire
regime.

Objectives
This document describes the strategies I plan to implement in order to
meet Mayos fire management obligations. It is a veldfire management
plan for the Mayo Area. It has been design based on the nature of
Mayo Area. It lists fire management strategies which are to be prepared
annually. The objectives of this veldfire management plan for the Mayo
Area are to:

Reduce the occurrence of human caused unplanned fires in Mayo.

Suppress unplanned fires occurring in Mayo.
Minimise the potential for the spread of veldfires within, from or
into Mayo.
Protect persons and property from veldfires occurring in the
reserves, in, or immediately adjacent to Mayo.
Manage fire regimes to avoid the extinction of biological species,
which are known to occur naturally within Mayo.

Protect from damage by veldfires all heritage sites, historic places

and culturally significant features, which are known to exist within
Mayo.

Protect from damage by veldfires all grazing pastures of the Cashel

valley area.

Educate the Cashel valley villagers about the dangers of veld fires,
how to reduce them and how to protect themselves.

Make fire breaks in the Cashel valley area.

To build have more fully equipped fire brigade systems in Mayo.

Introducing a heavy penalty on everyone who deliberately causes

veld fires in Mayo area.
 Limitations

Not all objectives would be viable as I may face a whole lot of

impediments in trying to implement the objectives.

Lack of cooperation

Some People in Mayo area resisted to cooperate with me during my

stay as they were not aware of what I was doing. They were not
welcome with me visiting the area as they believe in not disclosing
information to strangers.

Financial constrains
I faced financial constrains due to traveling costs, food costs, shelter
costs. These affected my research as I couldnt stay comfortably for so
long in that area. My funds were very limited.

Time constrains

I faced time constrains during my research I was dedicated to some

things else.

Lack of education

Some elders were not in a position of answering my questioners as they

were not in a position to read and write.

Delimitation

Im going to assess the veld fire risk in the Mayo Ranch of Zimbabwe
in order to ascertain causes, frequency, magnitude of damage and lastly
how to help and reduce these fires. Results provide important
information for designing a community based fire control strategy that
is under consideration by the local government. The Mayo district is
located in Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe and has a total population
of about 151 596 people (C.S.O., 2002), mostly which are resettled
farmers. Wild fires start early on in the dry season, in about May or
June. Most fires, however, occur between August and October and
Sometimes in November. The exact time of year at which fires start
and finish depends on the past rainy season and the start of the rains
in the current season. For Mayo, in 2005, most of the fires were
 located in and around the surrounding farms. Availability of excess
burning fuel from dry tree leaves and underlying grass gives rise to
early ignition, hence promoting higher incidents of fire outbreaks. Land
use practices in communal lands do not produce favourable conditions
for fire outbreaks. Practices such as cultivation, animal grazing, and
cutting down of trees by the community for firewood reduce the
amount of dead dry fuel on the ground, thereby reducing the
possibility of major fire outbreaks. In 2005 the district recorded 743
incidents of major fire outbreaks and in 2006 it recorded 341
detections of fire outbreaks. In 2005, 47 incidents were detected in
Chidzikwe, Pitt lodge and Barclay area the remaining 696 were detected
in the surrounding farms. These major outbreaks occur mostly due to
the resettled farmers who would be preparing for their farming lands
and also hunting for food products.

Significance of study

The campaign was of fundamental significance to:

The Mayo district people
The Zimbabwean nation
The researcher

The Mayo district people

The findings of the campaign would help educate them on the negative
impacts of veld fires. Due to successive veld fires there has been
reduction in plant coverage leading to more soil erosion which has led to
the reduction in crop yield and livestock rearing. Veld fires have caused a
lot of harm to the Mayo People, both physical and emotional. Houses
were reduced to ashes, friends and relatives were injured and also some
even died in extreme incidents.

The Zimbabwean nation

The findings of the campaign would help reduce the economical, social
and environmental effects of veld fires. Veld fires have gutted down a
great deal of timber plantations in different parts of the country and this
has greatly reduced the gross domestic product. The campaign will help
to educate the Zimbabwean citizens to be conservative and market the
natural resources to empower economic development and growth.

The researcher

The researcher aims to highlight the society on one of the major land
degradation cause which are veld fires. With this campaign He hopes to
bring reforms to uncontrolled veld fires. The researcher wishes to educate
the whole nation about the dangers of veld fires how they can be
Controlled.

Research methodology
The methodology adopted is the Rapid Rural Appraisal that is aimed at
ensuring wider coverage of the area and participation of research subjects to
increase information base on veld fire risk, previous
damage, cause and control strategy to address the noted limitations
(Pratt,2001; McCracken,1988).
RRA is a set of techniques that can be applied as a preliminary stage when
embarking on surveys of farmers. The technique essentially involves an
informal, rapid, exploratory study of a specified geographical area designed to
establish an understanding of local agricultural conditions, problems and
characteristics. It can be used to quickly obtain basic information specifically to
aid the generation of hypotheses and the design of questions for a
questionnaire The appraisal can produce, at a minimum cost, a rich description
of life in Mayo District and an understanding of the area that would be
valuable in ensuring that the right areas and people are surveyed and that
appropriate questions are asked. It can also provide basic information on the
feasibility of beginning a survey project in an area, particularly when one is
intending to survey an area about which little is known.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Question 2 response
People in Mayo Area noted that most natural veld fires occur at the beginning
of the wet season when the frequency of lightning is highest. Most fires are
ignited in the dry seasons and are cause by humans. . Wild fires start early
on in the dry season, in about May or June. Most fires, however, occur
between August and October and Sometimes in November.
Question 3

In most cases fire gutted down large parts of the veld which resulted in
livestock having no grazing land. In severe cases some people were injured and
death resulted in some recorded but rare cases. Homesteads were burnt to
ashes also.

Question 4
From 2003 only 10 incidences were recorded and in this period was a steady
decline until up to 2006 when 8 cases were observed. This was due to the fact
that most of the arable land was almost taken up and occupied by the new
farmers. As from 2007 only six cases were noted further going down to four
recoded in 2009. This marked decline is largely attributed to awareness
campaigns by the extension officers of both adjacent commercial timber
company as well as Ministry of Agriculture.

Qustion5
Lighting, Burning during land preparation, Smoking out bees, Improving grazing
land, Cooking, Hunting ,Creating fire breaks were noted as some of the causes
of veld fires. Agricultural activities are the major responsible causes of veld fire
outbreaks in Mayo from 2003 up to 2010 with 60%. On the causes of veld
fires, 6% of the respondents agreed that it was due to Creating fire breaks. 12%
of the villagers suggested that most veld fires were due to improving grazing
land. Only 4% noted that veld fires were due to cooking, which caused the fire.
This clearly illustrates that most of the veld fires are man-made and only a
paltry 3% has been due to natural causes such as lightning.

Question 6
Farmers suggested the following control strategies for the below named
Activities:

Activity Solution
Firebreaks These should be constructed around
the resettled areas and fields to
protect crops, livestock, people and
other variables
Early controlled burning November to December. This must be
done after the first rains.
Education Always. It is necessary to keep farmers
informed on the importance of
 controlling and erecting fire guards.
Burning fields at end of rainy season This was to be done at end of April
and May

Conclusions

After the researcher had gathered varied information from the Mayo people
and evaluated it he decided to conclude that most fires in Mayo area are a
result of agricultural activities, were by farmers use fire to clear their land. It
also became clear that most members were not aware of the dangers that
might be caused by veld fires. It is estimated that as many as 90% of unwanted
unnatural fires are caused by human intervention. This occurs where human
settlement interfaces with natural vegetation as is the case with a significant
number of hospitality sites located in the bushveld areas. Natural fires
(not influenced directly or indirectly by humans) have become rare. Veld fires
are an important aspect in farming. Firstly they can be used to clear in a short
space of time vast tracts of land for farming purposes. However, if veld fires are
not controlled very low agricultural output is realised.

Recommendations
At government level, it is important that there are clear and
unambiguous laws about illegal fires, and that the laws are enforced and
the perpetrators punished. However, poor people will continue to use fire
as a management tool (even while knowing it is against the law), unless
there are clear incentives and rewards for them not doing so.

Some of the benefits of fire prevention for communities may be:

 Increased availability of grasses and thatch increased income
has been generated from sales of grass etc.
Increased availability of building material Plants and trees are
healthier
More food is available for people from the forest (fruits, nuts
etc.)
More food is available for livestock
Income from sales of animals has increased
Less diseases in livestock
No livestock or agri-crops killed by fire in pilot villages
Increased wildlife in villages controlling fire.

Successful community involvement depends on many factors,

including those listed below:
Making sure that poor communities have access to resources
they need in the meantime, especially if the benefits will
only be felt in the future. If there is conflict within
communities about resources they will not want to cooperate
on fire prevention.
Giving incentives and rewards for fire management that are
related to the communitys needs.
Sanctions (for example, fines) are as important as incentives.
It is generally better if the community enforces the fines and
other penalties.
The Global Fire Monitoring Centre suggests that in order for any fire
management project to be successful it should incorporate five essential
elements:

Analysis a thorough evaluation of the fire issue

Prevention focusing on ignition reduction, impact mitigation and

fire use strategies (n.b controlled burns are a beneficial and
appropriate management tool in many cases. While the aim is to
discourage uncontrolled fires, communities also need to be aware
of why managed fires are necessary to maintain ecosystems in
certain areas. For example, if there are no managed fires (or
natural fires) in the floodplains, river grasses cannot regenerate
and this is an important raw material for thatching. Thatching in
the area is an important source of income in the area.

Preparedness focusing on early warning systems and ways to

improve readiness of key actors to respond appropriately to fires
as they occur

Response ensuring appropriate responses to inevitable

wildfires.

Restoration restoring fire-damaged ecosystems, and over the

long-term re-establishing ecosystem function, structure,
productivity and natural fire regimes. (ADAPTED FROM IUCN site,
arborvitae, future fires)
Questionnaire

I am a student with Masvingo Poly college. I am campaigning

against veld fires in Mayo District. The questionnaire is
intended to find out the extent to which the attitude and
causes of veld fires.

Everything you reveal will be treated with great

confidentiality. You will not be linked to any wrong doing
regarding the causes of veld fires. All I kindly need is your
help and cooperation.
I therefore kindly ask you to help in this Campaign against
veld fires by just answering the questionnaires as honestly as
you can. Thank you in advance.

Q1: What is your sex?

A: Male Female:

Q2: How often do veld fires occur in your area?

A:

Q3:How was the intensity of the veld fires if any?

A:..
Q4:How many veldfires occurred in:

YE INTENS YE INTENSI
AR ITY AR TY
20 20
03 07
20 20
04 08
20 20
05 09
20 20
06 10

Q5:What have been the causes of the fire?

A:

Q6: What veld fire control strategy do you suggest?

A:
Reference

- Herald Reporters (2005). Uncontrolled Fires Destroy $700 Billion Forests.

Herald Zimpapers Harare, 20 September.

- Herald Reporters (2006) Veld fires spell doom for Zimbabwe. Zimpapers,
Harare, 8 August 2006.

-Kruger, F. J., Le Maitre, D., Forsyth, G., Jayiya, T.P., Shields, B., & Moore, P.
(2004). Placement of the Fire Function: Custodian of the National Veld and
Forest Fires Act (No 101 of 1998). Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
Pretoria, South Africa.

-National Disaster Management Centre Department of Provincial and Local

Government www.sandmc.pwv.gov.za

-Frost, P. & Vasloo, H. (2006). Satellite-based early warnings of fires:

Reducing fire flashovers on transmission lines. Meraka
Institute.

-Garcia-Heriera, R., Gallego, D., Hernandez, E., Gimeno, L., Ribera, P., & Calvo,
N. (2003). Precipitation trends in the Canary Islands. International Journal of
Climatology, 23(2), 253-241.
-Ganz, D., Fisher, R.J. and Moore, P.F. (2003) Further Defining Community-
Based Fire Management: Critical elements and rapid appraisal tools. 3rd
International Wildland Fire Conference, October 6-8, Sydney, Australia.

-Gomez-Tejedor, J.A., Estela, M.J., & Millan, M.M. (2000). A mesoscale model
application to fire weather winds.
International Journal of Windland Fire, 9(4), 255-263.