Veld fires in Namibia burn farms, kill animals

WINDHOEK — Namibia has recorded 27 veld fires countrywide in the last 14 days, causing massive destruction to properties, an environment official said.

Veld fires, which have burned 59 farms covering 143,000 hectares of land and killed 135 head of livestock and 75 wild animals, continue to be a big challenge for the country, said Romeo Muyunda, spokesperson for the environment ministry, in a statement.

“The ministry continues to monitor the outbreaks of forest and veld fires nationwide based on remote sensing and aerial surveillance techniques,” he said.

The main causes of the fires have been charcoal production operations, mechanical appliances such as graders, recreational and natural resource management activities such as hunting, honey production and thatch harvesting, the statement said.

More than 2.5 million hectares of grazing land have been destroyed and over 635 animals have perished since May, according to data from the environment ministry.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK