CDM launches Fire Season and Safety Campaign

The impact of veld fires on the lives and future of residents of the Capricorn district is of paramount importance for Capricorn District Municipality (CDM) and it is necessary to sensitise communities about this force of nature that will be most relevant during the dry winter season.
This was the message of CDM Executive Mayor John Mpe at the launch of the municipality’s Fire Season and Safety Campaign that took place at the Seshego Sports Stadium last Wednesday. “This event is part of international Fire Reduction Month and brings us together every year to raise awareness of disasters like fire, its dangers and how we can avoid disasters as a result of it,” Mpe said. “We are slowly entering into the winter season, which is a dry and cold season and most of the veld and households fires are triggered in this season. We lose many lives and some end up with severe burns because of negligence,” Mpe added.
According to Mpe, the campaign will focus on protecting human lives and property against fire disasters. “It is about understanding and respecting the forces of nature, and thinking about future generations. We know that the social impact of fire disasters on the poor is immense because they make it even more difficult for the poorest to escape poverty. Fire disasters put hard-won development achievements at risk. They reverse economic growth and push millions back into poverty,” Mpe said.
“We see prevention as one of the keys to fire disaster reduction. Climate change and the loss of biodiversity must be halted. The loss of forests and wetlands have direct implications for risk because they weaken nature’s ability to withstand extreme weather patterns. We need to strengthen the protection of ecosystems and more clearly see the services they provide. We need to invest more in environmental and climate resilience,” Mpe advised.
Mpe said that a disaster risk reduction strategy is the only way to ensure that disasters do not derail sustainable development and poverty alleviation. CDM’s capacity in this regard will be strengthened by the development of disaster resilient villages, participation of multi-stakeholders such as civil society groups, academia, professionals, religious leaders and the business community and the development of human capacity, including knowledge, expertise, and wisdom. “This will be done through sufficient financing to support local communities’ disaster resilience capacity, by ensuring coherence between provincial capacity and local capacity and by integrating small-scale disaster risk and climate change adaptation initiatives into local development processes,” Mpe said.

Story & photos: BARRY VILJOEN
>>barryv.observer@gmail.com