I am a creative writer; precisely, a poet, novelist and script writer. However, traveling the South Bank Road almost every week, I feel compelled to write about the rampant, disastrous and ‘unattended to’ bush fires that are ravaging the bushes in Foni and Kiang. Hardly do you travel five minutes on the highway without seeing a large stretch of land devastatingly burnt by bush fires.
Our science and geography teachers never relent in telling us the dangers of bush fires. Even though, little or no person dies in bushfires, its effect is direct on the lives and livelihoods of the human populace.
One do not need a tiresome research to reach to the conclusion that bush fires severely affect the ecosystem.
Large areas of land have already been burnt down and this has a serious impact on the availability of feed for animals during the dry season. There have been several reports of both domestic and wild animals losing their lives in bush fires.
I remember our childhood days when we go out with dogs for hunting. Today, children barely go for hunting because, a great number of these animals have either lost their lives in bush fires or have taken to their heels.
Admittedly, bush fires have uncompromisingly increased the temperature in Kiang and Foni and expectedly in other parts of the country.
Moreover, with the rising and uncontrolled bush fires, several cashew farmers have knelt under the pressure of bush fires. Entire cashew farms are destroyed in bush fires. This takes a whole decade’s endeavor and labour back to scratch.
Scientifically, smoke affects the ozone layer and too much of it seriously affects it. Other effects include greenhouse effects. I would not want to go technical in this essay but I strongly urge the authorities to set up measures that will stop or at least mitigate bush fires. I strongly recommend a punishment for culprits of bush fires. Authorities can also create awareness reach-outs to communities on the dangers of bush fires.
Although, it is expected that locals are aware of the dangers of bushfires, it will be wrong to take this assumption as a reality and leave them to themselves. These reach-outs can advocate for the establishment of village committees that will look closely into the environment and punish or report anyone found wanting of causing damage to the environment especially in the form of bushfires.
The natural vegetative cover can regenerate within few years if bushfires are prevented.
Kebba S Juwara
