Determination of Veld Fire Hazard Zones in Multiple Tenure Systems in Zimbabwe: Implications for Intervention

Robert Maponga,Fethi Ahmed,Desmond Manatsa

doi:10.13189/eer.2017.050601

Abstract

The study determined fire hazard zones in multiple tenure systems from 2001 to 2013 in Mazowe district, Zimbabwe, using Landsat 7 and 8 30m resolution images, a fire hazard model and weighted sum of burnt area. The model divided the district into high, moderate and low fire hazard zones across five tenure systems that obtain. Most of the district (50%) was in the high hazard zone. Fire events superimposed onto the zones confirmed that most of the fire events (60%) occurred in the high hazard zone. The weighted sum of burnt area revealed that 47% of the study area was not burnt. The level of fire risk in terms of pasture per livestock unit was substantially high. At 1% of land burnt four times in A2 and Communal systems involved losses of 2784 and 1682 livestock units' worth of pasture respectively. The hazard zones show hotspots needing monitoring, fire problem occurring irrespective of tenure and that the problem could be addressed. The study recommends setting up a fire command centre, involving all parties, urgent attention to the fire problem across tenure and adoption practices such as law enforcement, hierarchical structures and participation of grassroots communities in addressing the fire problem.

Highlights

The outbreak of wildfires varies from one place to another and impacts on property, human life, livestock, wildlife resources, ecological processes, life support systems and livelihoods differently from one zone to another [1,2,3]
This section focuses on the results of the delineated hazard zones, the number of fire events that took place in each zone, the number of times the study area was burnt and the implications of the hazard zones on tackling the fire problem in Mazowe and Zimbabwe as a whole
The demarcations show that the high hazard zone has the largest while the moderate and low have lower proportions at tenure system levels

Summary

Introduction

The outbreak of wildfires varies from one place to another and impacts on property, human life, livestock, wildlife resources, ecological processes, life support systems and livelihoods differently from one zone to another [1,2,3]. In the absence of quantitative hazard zones, the management of wildfires remains a major challenge among local and government authorities (5). The study focuses on delineation of fire hazard zones in Mazowe district, Zimbabwe, where there are five tenure systems that fall within the same climatic zone but under different land or resource management systems [6,7]. (12) confirm that fires that affected Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe, spread from adjacent and or distant communal areas. The determination of fire hazard zones is necessary to enable planners and resource managers know where, what impacts, how much is required and when to invest in fire control and management [5,14,15]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion