Fire in miombo woodlands

Abstract

Concern about the environmental impact of forest fires in the Bukombe District in Tanzania has been growing in the last two decades. Most in the district are caused by human activities. The protection of the miombo woodlands is hampered by a lack of fire management policies and legal instruments to support fire prevention and suppression. Trained human resources are also limited. Local communities have their own management system and forest fire management that complement local ecology and traditions. It is therefore expedient to involve them in forest management. The HASHI (Soil Conservation and Afforestation) Project together with the Forest and Beekeeping Division have organized joint forest management in selected locations where the villagers are granted use rights to forest resources. The creation of local ownership has been a key to the success of fire management