GEORGE NEWS - More than 200 dignitaries from government departments, local government, forestry companies, academic and research institutions, as well as landowners, attended the 2018 Fire Management Symposium held at the George Campus of the Nelson Mandela University from Wednesday to Friday, 3 to 5 October.
At the opening of the symposium Pumeza Nodada, acting deputy director-general of Forestry and Natural Resource Management, said that only by sharing the scarce resources across public and private sectors would it be possible to have an integrated veld fire management (IFM). Nodada also acknowledged the services by institutions like Working on Fire and other organisations, saying, "These programmes are contributing greatly to building the concept of integrated fire management".
Dr Mmaphaka Tau, deputy director-deneral of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), told delegates that South Africa is experiencing increased levels of disaster risks. "By using an eco-systems approach, we must surely by now understand the threat of invasive alien species." He said that the clearing of these species should be prioritised, as it affects water security.
Cllr Barend Groenewald, acting Speaker of Garden Route District Municipality, said it is a known fact that all communities are vulnerable to the impact of various types of disasters.
"As decision-makers and administrators who render services to communities, we have to recognise the diversity of our communities, adjust to the challenges of a dynamic environment and, most importantly, manage situations to the best of our ability with due consideration of scarce resources at our disposal".
Paul Buchholz, project manager of the environmental work stream of the former Garden Route Rebuild Initiative (GRRI), elaborated on the steps taken soon after the June 2017 fires in the Garden Route and how these activities have been maintained. Efforts ensured success in preventing further damage to affected areas. One example is the installation of 34km of fire sausages (soil erosion prevention booms) at the most damaged and affected areas to ensure that sediment does not flow down from higher geographical areas.
Officials from the GRDM with Pumeza Nodada of Forestry and Natural Resources Management (centre). From left are Executive Manager of Community Services Clive Africa, acting Speaker Barend Groenewald, manager of Disaster Management Gerhard Otto and GRDM George station official Deon Stoffels.
Buchholz said this could not have been successfully implemented without the assistance of geographic information systems (GIS) to analyse the high-risk areas. A drone was also used to spot the most affected areas in order to prioritise and guide intervention initiatives.
Leo Long, senior practitioner at Training and Skills Development at South African Forestry Companies Limited (Safcol), said that an inclusive evacuation plan needs to be developed and communicated and safe areas must be identified and maintained for this purpose.
Axel Jooste of Sappi Forestry provided food for thought when he highlighted the danger of 'factory blindness', using the case study of the Apollo 1 space mission fire that killed three astronauts.
The accident inquest summed up this disaster as the "failure of imagination". Jooste then posed the question: "Are we also guilty of missing the warning signs, overlooking the obvious and a lack of imagination?"
Speakers at the symposium, from left: Dr Christo Marais of the Department of Environmental Affairs; Roger Godsmark of Forestry South Africa; Paul Buchholz of the Garden Route Rebuild Initiative; Dr Jaap Steenkamp of Forestry and Allied Manufacturing; Pumeza Nodada of Forestry and Natural Resources Management; Malcolm Procter of Daff; Leo Long of Safcol; Axel Jooste of Sappi Forestry; John-John Emary of Volunteer Wildfire Services; and Dr Mmaphaka Tau of the National Disaster Management Centre.
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