The Worrying Trend Of Bush Fires And Domestic Fires

Bushfires and domestic fire has become an issue in the country and northern region to be specific especially this season and stakeholders seem to have turned blind eyes and deaf ears to.

It is common to see people in this season organizing themselves in cargo trucks going on safari for which reason they deliberately set indiscriminate fires to enable them hunt for rats and other animals.

Obviously, these people think about what they earn today and not the consequences of the bushfire on their environment in the future. Some farmers sometimes recklessly set fires on their farms to burn-off or clear the lands; these fires sometimes get out of control which ends up burning their own farm produce and also has the tendency of burning other people's farms.

It is pathetic and disheartening to hear that, the farm produce that our hardworking farmers have against all odds worked for, get consumed by uncontrolled bush fire. Bushfires can have biological, chemical and physical effects on our soils. Intense fires cause biological effects such as killing of living organisms within the soil.

Higher soil temperatures, which is greater than 100oc that alter soil chemical structure, changing the amounts and availability of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and ammonia within the soil. Fire cause changes in the soil's ability to absorb moisture and also change the soil texture.

Fire can affect stream waters and Dams which serves as a greater percentage of our sources of drinking water. Our sources of drinking water get polluted since bushfires lead to erosion that causes soil, ash and nutrients to be transported in to streams.

Above all, smoke pollutes the air which leads to the depletion of the Ozone layer and its countless negative effects on human beings and the environment. District Assemblies enacted bye-laws on the environment but how effective are the bye-laws in deterring people from burning and felling economic trees for charcoal manufacturing.

The Northern regional Director of Environmental Protection Agency, Mr Abu said they were setting up Anti-Bushfire Committees which would include opinion leaders, traditional rulers and youth groups to ensure that, they control bushfires effectively in the communities. But this he said, they need funds to effectively work as expected.