Friday, March 28th, 2008
Fighting fire in Madagascar (eng+video)
Brushfire is a crucial part of Madagascar eco-system, as it helps to rejuvenate the earth by burning dead matter, to prepare for new growth. But, as the country’s population increases, and the animals becomes less migrant, controlled burning called TAVY is not done yet…
The Madagascar bush fires can spread very quickly, destroying homes and taking lives of both animals and humans. Common causes include lightning, human carelessness and arson, and in fierce wind, fires in Madagascar can move very fast. Lack of resources to fight the fires is a major problem, as there are no major firefighting organizations in Madagascar, so fire control is a very important task.
“We actually had a real brushfire when I was there” said my friend Sebastien W. from FANAMBY , “and I was amazed at how fast the situation escalated. We were just sitting around, hanging out, waiting to go to work, and we got news that there was an actual brushfire near the ranch, and so we all just jumped in the cars, and drove over there, and within five minutes, the fire burned pretty much as far as you could see on this video.”
Seb is actually working on a project called “suivi des feux” and use GPS, mobile phone, and google earth to record all slash and burn & brushfire from all around the country … coming soon