BY VANESSA GONYE ENVIRONMENT and Tourism minister Mangaliso Ndlovu yesterday said eight people died last year due to veld fires, doubling the previous yearโs figure of four deaths.
Speaking during the launch of the fire week in Harare yesterday, Ndlovu said in 2021 a total of 3 948 fire incidents were recorded during the dry season, which destroyed 1 033 722 hectares of forests and grasslands compared to 1 178 fire incidents recorded in 2020, destroying 1 100 000 hectares.
โVeld fires are an environmental challenge and annually, an average of a million hectares of forest and grass is lost as a result. We need to make veld fires a national disaster considering their destructive nature,โ Ndlovu said.
#New #TalkingPaper๐ด'๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซโ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐ฌ' –@nqo_nn, Environment and Tourism minister pic.twitter.com/qBmgvs8GJY
— NewsDay Zimbabwe (@NewsDayZimbabwe) May 17, 2022
โWe need to create a self-sufficient and food surplus economy premised on the fact that a protected environment creates an enabling environment for thriving crop and livestock production sectors.โ
This yearโs fire week theme is Veld Fires, a Food Security Threat, Protect the Harvest.
