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The incidence of forest fires is increasing
throughout the Zambezi basin. Although the use
of fire for land management has a long history in
the basin, widespread poverty and other socio-
economic challenges such as migration to urban
areas and diseases such as HIV and AIDS, result
in shortage of labour in rural areas. This has led
to increasing reliance on fire to clear agricultural
land (SAFnet 2009). The high frequency of fires
results in changes in the density of vegetation
cover and forest species as well as structural
composition of forests. Such changes affect
hydrological processes, cause land degradation
and contribute to carbon dioxide emissions.
There is a growing incidence of forest fires in the basin’s savannah woodlands.
Forest fires are common in
the Zambezi Basin, especially
during the period July to
November.
A large swath of burnt forest.
Forest Fires
© Antonio Klaus Kaarsberg
© Mukundi
Mutasa