Veldfire incidents surge in Zimbabwe, EMA reports 50% increase

By Andile Mvundla

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has sounded the alarm over a significant surge in veld fires across Zimbabwe.

According to EMA, a total of 1620 fire cases have been reported since the start of the fire season on 1 July, resulting in the loss of 392,183 hectares of land and claiming two lives in the process.

Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East have been the most affected regions, while Harare and Bulawayo remain the least affected provinces. However, EMA has cautioned that Bulawayo’s peri-urban areas remain at risk of recording veld fires as the season progresses.

EMA spokesperson Amkela Sidange expressed concern over the alarming increase in fire activity compared to last year.

“If we are to look at the fire statistics for this year they are on the higher side, compared to what was happening during the corresponding period last year, the country by then had lost about 126 150 hectares of land from about 1 011 veld fire incidents.This year’s figures represent a staggering 50% rise,” said Sidange.

To combat this crisis, Sidange said that EMA has initiated various mitigation measures, including public awareness campaigns and stricter enforcement of fire regulations.

“We are doing both awareness campaigns and enforcing harsher restrictions to combat the occurrence of veld fires across different provinces of the country. So far we the agency has filed 14 dockets against fire offenders,” added Sidange.

Meanwhile both EMA and ZRP issued a stern warning to the public to avoid using fire outside their residential or business premises while also highlighting that only individuals aged between 16 and 65 are authorized to participate in firefighting activities.

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