THE Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry has cautioned members of the public to desist from “irresponsible” acts which may result in the outbreak of veld fires in the country, and warned that those who are responsible for starting such fires will be prosecuted and punished.
Agriculture Minister John Mutorwa yesterday issued a statement in which he called on all Namibians to take necessary measures to prevent veld fires which are prevalent during autumn and winter when the veld is dry.
Mutorwa also called on the nation to prevent veld fires by being extraordinarily cautious and not to do anything “irresponsible” that may result in the destruction of scarce pastures by such fires which have a negative impact on the livestock sector.
“Any irresponsible acts, that may result in the outbreak of veld fires, anywhere in Namibia, will and must be regarded as a criminal offence - and those responsible will and must be prosecuted and punished,” Mutorwa stressed.
He added that no effort must be spared to pro-actively prevent the outbreak of uncontrolled veld fires, which should include community awareness campaigns in all regions of the country.
In 2012, about 70 million hectares of grazing was lost to veld fires. The Kavango and Otjozondjupa regions were the worst affected. A total of 21 627 hectares were lost in the Kavango region between April and November last year, with more than 13,000 hectares destroyed in September alone.
In the Otjozondjupa region veld fires destroyed more than 9 000 hectares in August last year, while another 5 679 hectares burned down in September that same year. During that same period almost 8 000 hectares were destroyed in the Omaheke Region.
In the Omusati Region a total of 2 475 hectares were destroyed in June last year and a senior forester within the ministry told The Namibian that incidents of veld fires increased during the winter months in some regions.
“During these cold months the people make fires to warm themselves up and if they are left unattended, and a strong wind blows, these fires can easily get out of hand,” said senior forester Paulus Shikongo.
The only region where there was a decrease in veld fires over the last 10 months was the Caprivi, where 3 284 hectares of grazing were destroyed.
The regions that were least affected by veld fires are Karas (67 hectares), Ohangwena (116 hectares), Hardap (501 hectares), Erongo (616 hectares) and Khomas (747 hectares).
According to Shikongo, other causes of veld fires are lightning during the rainy season and motorists throwing burning cigarette butts out of their moving cars.
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