© FAO Zimbabwe COMMUNITY BASED FIRE MANAGEMENT FOR ENHANCING FOREST HEALTH AND VITALITY September 2019 SDGs: Countries: Zimbabwe Project Codes: TCP/ZIM/3604 FAO Contribution USD 118 000 Duration: 1 February 2018 – 30 June 2019 Contact Info: FAO Representation in Zimbabwe
[email protected] COMMUNITY BASED FIRE MANAGEMENT FOR TCP/ZIM/3604 ENHANCING FOREST HEALTH AND VITALITY Implementing Partners The problem of fires in Zimbabwe can be linked to Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Forestry institutional, attitudinal and enforcement issues. A lack of Commission (FC), Ministry of Environment, Tourism and involvement on the part of certain key actors in the Hospitality Industry, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, formulation, implementation and monitoring and Climate and Rural Resettlement. evaluation of fire activities, as well as a lack of a sense of responsibility for forests and landscapes in the vicinity Beneficiaries of local populations, result in insufficient protection of Vulnerable populations in the Mutasa, Lupane and these forests, landscapes and biodiversity. Bulilima districts; Communities in the project areas, Forests and grazing lands are transboundary in nature. At Government ministries and departments; Consumers. the community level, they are shared by one or more Country Programming Framework (CPF) Outputs villages, making the need for coordination necessary when Priority C: Improved preparedness for effective and it comes to fire-related management issues. In addition to gender-sensitive response to agriculture, food and issues of coordination, there are also problems regarding nutrition threats and emergencies. resources and knowledge of firefighting. Government efforts to reduce the impacts of fire on natural ecosystems started with the launch of the National Fire Protection Strategy (NFPS) in 2006, which aimed to reduce incidences of uncontrolled veld fires and the environmental damage associated with them.