Zambezi River Basin

Forest Fires © Antonio Klaus Kaarsberg © Mukundi Mutasa

There is a growing incidence of forest fires in the basin’s savannah woodlands.

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.

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

Forest fires are common in the Zambezi Basin, especially during the period July to November.

A large swath of burnt forest.

52