Veld fire mitigation strategy: a vision for an innovative and integrated approach to managing risks in land reform farms, a case of land reform beneficiaries in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa has a diverse climate and an equally diverse range of vegetation types, many of which are veld fire-prone. Veld fires form an integral process in many of these ecosystems, and indeed are often necessary for the maintenance of healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. However, in land reform farms headed by land reform beneficiaries veld fires are increasingly viewed and experienced as a destructive force, impacting on crops, livestock, pastures, forestry plantations, human habitation and even on human life. Land reform beneficiaries are part of the state’s programme which seeks to provide the poor and the previously disadvantaged population with land to improve their livelihoods, and also use the land for establishing farming enterprises. These beneficiaries are mostly black emerging farmers, farming with crop and livestock and are largely dependent on the government’s recapitalisation programme for the support of their agricultural enterprises. These beneficiaries are faced with various trade-offs and constraints as veld fires expose them to greater risk and renders some of their current practices unworkable. Their vulnerability to veld fires, mitigation, adaptation and coping practices towards veld fires has never been researched before. This study therefore is an attempt to fill this gap. The management of veld fires within the South African land reform programme, leaves much to be desired and calls for new institutional arrangements and a coordinated approach. This research paper seeks to facilitate veld fire management in land reform farms, through the introduction of measures to combat veld, forest and mountain fires throughout the land reform farms in South Africa and thereby reducing the damage and losses to natural vegetation, life and property. The unequivocal evidence presented in this paper balanced the social, environmental, and economic aspects of veld fires through a risk management strategy that emphasises hazard mitigation, preparedness, and recovery, as well as efficient veld fire response and suppression.