Creating a firebreak using a land grader (GIZ)
This technique is used on rangeland with rainfall between 150 and 300 mm. Firebreaks are a precautionary measure designed to protect forage on rangelands during the dry season. Bushfires are frequent on good-quality rangeland with over 1t/ha of biomass.
Purpose of the Technology: Firebreaks cut vast tracts of rangeland into smaller areas, with a view to limiting damage in the event of wildfire. They can also be established along traditional tracks. The gap in the vegetation makes it easier to put fires out along the corridor, which facilitates rapid access. When the fire reaches the firebreak, there is no combustible material to fuel it and it burns itself out.
Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: There are two techniques for creating firebreaks: (i) the manual method and (ii) the mechanised method. In both cases, a 10 to 15 m wide corridor is cleared perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction after the rainy season. Fires only poses a threat in the Sahel area in the dry season following a good rainy season when grass growth is good. The corridor is cleared of all herbaceous vegetation manually, using tools such as rakes, shovels and axes, or mechanically using a tractor pulling a large harrow, a four-wheel-drive vehicle pulling the blades behind it or graders. Trees are pruned, but left in place.
The sustainability of firebreaks depends on how well they are maintained. Once they have been created, they need to be cleared every year if grasses have grown over them again. If there is little vegetation growth, they can
be maintained once every two years or as required. If they are cleared manually, the communities or commune authorities must be well organised to ensure that the work is properly carried out. Good organisation is also required to ensure an effective response in the event of a fire (mobile unit).
Lugar: Ferlo Region, Senegal, Senegal
No. de sitios de Tecnología analizados:
Difusión de la Tecnología: distribuida parejamente sobre un área (approx. 100-1,000 km2)
¿En un área de protección permanente?:
Fecha de la implementación: 10-50 años atrás
Tipo de introducción
Preventing wildfire contributes to safeguarding the fauna and flora over vast tracts of rangeland, which would otherwise be destroyed. It also avoids enormous economic losses in terms of livestock and infrastructure (herding villages, forage). When rangelands remain intact, nomadic livestock keepers tend to stay within their area.
