Fires play an essential part in the maintenance of the environment, but
amplified fire activity often leads to adverse effects in the environment such
as destruction of property and loss of life. Botswana has experienced wildfires
that are caused by humans intentionally and unintentionally. Some of these
wildfires grow into megafires such as the 2008 wildfires. Data of wildfires reported in Botswana
from the Department of Forestry and Range Resources and the frequency of
occurrence was studied and analyzed. It shows the period of 2006-2017, Ghanzi
and Ngamiland districts were mostly affected by wildfires. These districts have
protected land such as the wildlife parks which may lead to the outbreak of natural wildfires that burns unnoticed
due to minimal movements of people. The wildfires reported in each district
show an increase over the years and this may affect the smooth running of
operations.
References
[1]
Mojeremane, W. (2004) Wildland Fires in Botswana. Fire Management Today, 64, 34-36.
[2]
Williams, J., Albright, D., Hoffmann, A.A., Eritsov, A., Moore, P.F., de Morais, J.C.M., Leonard, M., Miguel-Ayanz, J.S., Xanthopoulos, G. and van Lierop, I.P. (2011) Findings and Implications from a Coarse-Scale Global Assessment of Recent Selected Mega-Fires. Proceedings of the 5th International Wildland Fire Conference, Sun City, 9-13 May, 19.
Manatsa, D. and Reason, C. (2017) ENSO-Kalahari Desert Linkage on Southern Africa Summer Surface Air Temperature Variability. International Journal of Climatology, 37, 1728-1745. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4806
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Dube, O.P. (2014) Challenges of Wildland Fire Management in Botswana: Towards a Community Inclusive Fire Management Approach. Weather and Climate Extremes, 1, 26-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2013.08.001
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Byakatonda, J., Parida, B.P., Moalafhi, B.D., Kenabatho, P.K. and Lesolle, D. (2020) Investigating Relationship between Drought Severity in Botswana and ENSO. Natural Hazards, 100, 255-278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-019-03810-1
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Urrutia-Jalabert, R., Gonzalez, M.E., Gonzalez-Reyes, A., Lara, A. and Garreaud, R. (2018) Climate Variability and Forest Fires in Central and South-Central Chile. Ecosphere, 9, e02171. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2171
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Dube, O.P. (2007) Fire Weather and Land Degradation. In: Sivakumar, M.V.K. and Ndiang’ui, N., Eds., Climate and Land Degradation, Springer, 224-251. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72438-4_12
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Ringrose, S., Matheson, W., Wolski, P. and Huntsman-Mapila, P. (2003) Vegetation Cover Trends along the Botswana Kalahari Transect. Journal of Arid Environment, 54, 297-317. https://doi.org/10.1006/jare.2002.1092
