PEAK TIMBERS SENSITISES BULEMBU COMMUNITY ON FOREST fIRES
BULEMBU – In just four months, forest fires once caused damage worth E74 million.
This was noted by Wandile Mavuso, who is the Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). He was speaking during a fire awareness initiative at Bulembu. The event was organised by Shiselweni Forestry Company (SFC), trading as Peak Timbers and was held at Bulembu.
Speaking at the residents’ and stakeholders’ meeting, Mavuso said it was vital to protect the forests because fires could cause extensive damage. He said this could even result in the loss of lives as well as jobs.
Damage
He revealed that in 2019, fires caused damage from April to July. He said the damage amounted to E74 million in just four months. Mduduzi Tsabedze of Bulembu Essential Oils also warned against forest fires. He warned residents that whenever they saw smoke and were not sure where it was coming from, they should call the emergency number 7696 7904. He said this was a number that was available 24 hours a day for emergencies, including fire prevention.
Tsabedze said in the forests, fire spread very quickly such that within 10 minutes, the fire could reach unbelievable distances.
Meanwhile, another concern raised by the forestry company was that of women who were collecting imphepho illegally. Imphepho (the flowers of the everlasting family Helichrysum), is an important and widely used plant as a ritual incense.
However, each day people collect the plants without following proper channels.
Nhlanhla Nxumalo revealed that in their forests, they would sometimes nab women from as far as Lundzi, collecting imphepho without valid permits. He said the company wanted to promote people from the surrounding communities instead. He said the local women could instead collect the imphepho and then sell it to the women from the other areas.
Nxumalo said imphepho permits were free.
He added that it was not permitted for people to loiter in the forest as they could accidentally start fires. He said many people tried to enter the forests to collect honey by starting fires but this was not permitted without proper permission.