VELD FIRES, A PREVALENT SPATIO-TEMPORAL PHENOMENON INFLICTING MORE HARM TO OUR COMMON HOME
To this day, I have witnessed many uncontrolled land fires especially in mountains and on grazing pastures. It all ended with un-answered questions, sometimes with responses that are not convincing and the worst were those which seem unworthy to me. Veld fires are so disturbing especially when you cannot do something practical to instantly stop the fire.
Many Environmentalists can agree with me and so as scholars around the world who have tried to come up with different research studies dwelling on land fire issues. Recently, I came across a significant wild fire which provoked me to write this article. I couldn’t ignore the silent cry of Mother Earth who is like a mute man, always looking for a good steward to be her voice. Globally, incidents of veld fires are becoming very usual especially during dry seasons which are characterised by harsh climatic conditions such as high temperatures.
We have heard of significant fire cases in countries like Australia, UK, USA, and Indonesia among others. Coming close to my continent of origin, some researchers have characterised Africa as the most continent where fire cases are prevalent due to large tracks of land with tropical and subtropical savannas, woodlands and shrublands which are fire-prone. A number of documented literatures have also asserted that land fires are increasingly becoming a global concern, mainly in communities where recurrent cases are being recorded (FANRD, 2010; Tasker et al, 2016; Kiel et al, 2015; BBC, 2011; Hamed, 2019; Californian Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 2010; Fire Research Technical Report, 2006; Neighbour, 2019; Kop[1]litz et al, 2015; Sheldon et al, 2017).
Narrowing the scale, I strongly believe that my beloved country Zimbabwe is also among the top countries in the Sub-Sahara region to record high numbers of recurrent fire cases. And this is not a secret anymore; one can just witness such uncontrolled fires when travelling from one town to another.
I used to enjoy the journey connecting Harare city and Chinhoyi town, especially when passing through the Great Dyke; seeing large groups of playful monkeys along the highway, being amazed by God’s handiwork – the Great Dyke I used to see in a Geography textbook, as well as appreciating the Engineers and those who were involved in creating a safe passage through the Dyke.
A couple of consecutive days along the Dyke, I got robbed and the crying Mother Earth created a void deep within my heart. That void is slowly disappearing as lm sharing this script – containing a message for the anguished Mother Earth, to the whole world. That was on Thursday morning 27 September 2022, I was coming from Chinhoyi to attend a four-day Archdiocese of Harare Youth Conference which was being held at All Souls High School –my former school in Mutoko District.
All the way from Chinhoyi to Nyabira; a number of farms had fire all over the land and this convinced me it was being used to clear their fields. Well, that was something usual to me since back in the village we normally used fire to burn crop remains too – though we didn’t just ablaze the whole land; we gathered the residues at one point and then burn them at once (why burning?, a story for another day). I was only surprised even such big commercial farmers still use fire to clear their croplands. The worst case was a huge uncontrolled fire which I saw spreading on the right side of the highway within the Great Dyke. I was so concerned and I wanted to know what might be the causal reason behind such a huge wildfire. The whole right side of the Dyke was on fire.
For once, I felt for the poor fauna which used to enjoy their different lifestyles within their respective niches. No more playful monkeys – where could they have ran for safety? We both know such a fire didn’t just cause significant impacts on monkeys only. On 3 October 2022, I couldn’t believe; the fire was now on the other side of the Dyke. I failed to handle myself and I remember one passenger asked me if everything was well. Quickly I expressed my frustration, ‘Last week pandakadarika moto uyu wanga uri uko, tarisai muone kwakatsva kwese uko, saka ndiri kushamisika kuti moto wacho wave kune rimwe diwi, sei!!!! (Last week when I passed through the Dyke, the fire was on that side, but now Im being surprised its now on this side, how!!!). Honestly, it was heart-breaking. The driver who happened to be a Doctor at a local private health facility in Harare responded,’ Ah makore mazhinji mugomo imomu munobvira and vafana vacho pamwe vanenge vachibata tumbeva zvatwo’.
The driver also proved to have been witnessing a couple of such fire cases and he believed wild rabbit hunting is the main cause of such fire incidences. I remember when I arrived in Chinhoyi town, I went straight to the office, all I wanted was to notify the responsible authorities about this fire case – unfortunately up to this day, Im not sure how effective is the EMA Whistleblower System. I’m still thinking maybe I failed to address the issue properly or maybe the system is not working because I never got any response. I also informed my workmates about this chronic fire case and they seem to be familiar with such incidences too. Last week when I journeyed to Harare again, I got a little relive. Nature, specifically Flora, has the ability to heal herself although it takes time for some species….How about Fauna?