NEWS
damaging , especially for large valuable trees used in the forestry sector for railways , mines and timber production . The banning of local fires disrupted practices central to people ’ s subsistence , culture and their way of life .
Before independence in 1990 , this area was exposed to decades of war , political and inter-ethnic conflict and deforestation . It resulted in pressures on diminishing natural resources for rural communities . During the Namibian independence struggle ( 1960s-1989 ), the South African Border War took place in the region and the park was used as a military training ground .
The Khwe-San people , renowned trackers and formidable hunters , were employed by the South African Defence Force as soldiers . These socio-political circumstances disrupted cultural fire practices over a period of three decades .
After Namibia ’ s independence in 1990 , political focus shifted to the tensions between pastoralist and former huntergatherer communities , as well as the need to sustain local livelihoods alongside nurturing an international tourism industry . Still , colonial policies of fire suppression persisted , and fires were only permitted again in 2006 .
In our study , we surveyed the Khwe-San and Mbukushu communities , park management and fire focused stakeholders . These included government staff responsible for the Namibian wildlife and forestry sectors , non-governmental organisations , academic researchers and environmental consultants . We found that most people preferred the use of deliberate fires , set early in the dry season , to policies of fire suppression .
This finding highlights the importance of the consideration of cultural fire knowledge , history and diverse management perceptions . The confluence of indigenous fire practices and modern fire policies could benefit local fire management relations , as the local people have always been blamed for unfavourable fires in the park . It turned out that fire doesn ’ t need to be a source of tension in the park because all the stakeholders actually agree on best practice .
Our study revealed how today ’ s fire management policies have roots deep in human history . Until recently , local burning knowledge and practices have been largely unrecognised by national government officials in southern Africa .
Important traditional knowledge
We found that the Khwe-San ’ s knowledge of traditional burning practices
Figure 2 : A Khwe-San woman collects false mopane seeds for the pot from a tree above a burnt patch of grass ( Glynis Humphrey )
has been passed down over many generations . Fires started early in the dry season ( April to July ) encourage the growth of edible plants , an important food resource . Fires were also used by the Khwe-San for healing ceremonies , to open up dense stands of vegetation that could harbour dangerous wild animals , to remove parasites , control diseases and sustain habitat for medicinal plants . Importantly , these early season fires help to prevent large late-season fires that cover wider areas and burn more intensely .
The Mbukushu people use fires early in the dry season to regenerate grasses for livestock , and late season ( August to November ) fires to prepare fields for growing vegetables in the rainy season . Not all fires are perceived as good , as sometimes fires used in crop fields cause “ runaway ” fires in the park . But the use of fire in the late season is a critical component of food security for people living in the park . Fire in the late season is necessary for growing crops but negatively affects wild food resources in the park .
Today , controlled fire is generally accepted as an ecological tool to manage vegetation and help determine where and when wildfires happen . As the Khwe and Mbukushu people know , burning off patches of grass in the early dry season reduces the spread of hot fires late in the season when the grass would be very dry and ignitable , and ambient temperatures are high .
Modern scientific studies have also found that cooler fires in the early season result in partially combusted grass and therefore release less carbon into the atmosphere . This means they can potentially lessen the contribution of fires to global climate change .
Our study highlights the often-neglected importance of indigenous knowledge in fire management . The hope is that traditional practices are respected and properly acknowledged by policymakers and managers in the future .
It is also important to understand and acknowledge the history and cultural dynamics of fire , alongside the reasons people use fire . This is critical for managing fires in the future .
Grassroots Vol 20 No 4 December 2020 26