The forests are bleeding

THE fire season is upon us and Manicaland is experiencing an ugly scourge of veld fires that are destroying its scenic forests and strategic assets. Veld fires are blazes that spring out of control, exterminating vast tracts of forests, resulting in loss of biodiversity, human and animal life, property and productivity.

Most of the fires are deliberate and manmade.

This is despite the fact that from July 1 to October 31, nobody is permitted to start fires outside their houses as the fuel load - dry leaves, wood, dead plants and grass - is dry and more susceptible to fire.

Hardly a month and half into the 2022 fire season, the trend is unfortunately repeating itself, thereby exposing our province to increasing levels of disaster risk.

Rampaging fires are a common feature across the breadth and length of Manicaland.

Early this week, fire ravaged the Nyakamete Industrial Area and destroyed property worth thousands of dollars at the Wattle Company. A day’s production was lost in the inferno. As if that is not enough, hectares of land have been left without vegetation cover.

Forests between Rusape and Mutare, Nyanga and Mutare, Nyanga and Rusape, Rusape and Marondera, as well as Mutare and Birchenough Bridge are now almost barren

Plantations in Nyanga, Chimanimani, Makoni and Mutasa have not been spared.

The vastness of land falling prey to these fires is likely to go up if nothing is done to reverse the trajectory where it has become common to come across a piece of land being gutted by fire with communities doing nothing about it.

Our forests are on the verge of extinction. As recognised in the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, forests play a critical role in the mitigation of climate change.

As such, forest ecosystems are one of the most efficient systems in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow down the negative impact of climate change.

It is therefore urgent and imperative for stakeholders to scale up the management and governance framework around forestry areas.

That way, our forests will be able to provide means of improving the people’s standards of living.

Although priority must be on reducing the risk and enhancing preparedness to fight veld fires, we have observed with concern that the province is still lagging behind in combating the scourge.

The province has a target to reduce veld fires by 10 percent, but current developments are showing that the target might not be achieved.

As things stands, there seems to be confusion on who exactly is in charge of fire management in the province.

Is it the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) or the Forestry Commission? The two are tossing responsibility on each other.

This confusion, coupled with lack of coordination among key stakeholders, is resulting in a weakened enforcement of existing laws.

And if this continues, more hectares will be destroyed as we watch helplessly.

This is very unfortunate because the forestry industry contributes significantly to the provincial economy.

The fires also destroy wildlife, resulting in loss of potential tourism revenue.

All stakeholders must put hands on the deck.

Prosecution in environmental crimes should not take too long to complete.

The sentences and fines should be deterrent to avoid defeating the whole process of protecting the environment.

Stakeholders should also embark on a serious re-forestation exercise to replenish depleted forests.

Our communities, especially those in A1, A2 and commercial farms, need to become more responsible and desist from starting fires.

Our attitudes as a community must change.