Assessment of causes that contribute to the occurrence of plantations forests fires in Niassa Province, North of Mozambique

BACKGROUND

The government of Mozambique started to promote exotic forest plantations (pine & eucalyptus) because of low natural forest productivity, population growth and land use pressure. Niassa province was one of the provinces for this plantation program. However, fires in these commercial plantations have brought an enormous risk for companies, yet these companies provide the greatest source of employment for the local people.

RESEARCH GOALS AND METHODS

This research assessed the main causes of fire in three districts of Niassa (Lichinga, Lago and Sanga) where Chikweti Company operates. Fire occurrence records database of the company were used which were collected from Fire Monitoring Center (FMC) and local weather data, from Lichinga Agricultural Research Station (Weather station). Burned area was measured using a GPS 24 hours after a fire. Simple descriptive statistics was carried out to analyze the fire data collected.

CONCLUSIONS AND TAKEAWAYS

According to the authors, most fires were human induced (arson) and fire occurrence corelated with weather conditions of that day. To mitigate these fires and avoid similar situation in the future, companies need to work with the government, local authorities, and non- governmental organizations in improving education and participation of rural communities.