Uncontrolled wildfires engulf around 500,000 hectares of land in Namibia

Namibia has recorded a total of 499,344 hectares of land burned by uncontrolled wildfires since the start of the fire season in April, an official said Thursday.

Namibia’s fire season, which starts in April and ends in September, has been observed to cause massive damage to the environment and properties over the past years. Although some parts of the country did not receive sufficient rain this year, there are regions that have significant fuel loads, said the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda in a statement.

“Hence, the ministry has activated the fire management systems to deal with this expected natural disaster. The ministry will be implementing its fire management strategy which entails fire prevention and suppression activities, community outreach programs, education and awareness as well as stakeholder engagement,” he said.

According to Muyunda, prior to the fire season, the ministry has been engaged in developing and maintenance of firebreaks.

“To this end, 33 km of fire breaks have been cleared across the country and work is ongoing. We further would like to call upon charcoal producers to adhere to charcoal production guidelines developed by the Ministry in 2022. We are also engaged in facilitating early burning in community forests as well as training community members,” he added.

In 2021, the country recorded a total of 3 million hectares of burned areas, while in 2022, 2.4 million hectares of land were burned, including forests, bush woodland, and grassland in various regions across the country. In addition, during the 2022 fire season, five people sustained serious injuries, of whom, three people lost their lives, in addition to livestock and wildlife losses, according to Muyunda. Enditem