ABSTRACT
There is a long-standing controversy about savannah burning. This controversy arises out of the conflicting interests of foresters and soil conservationists on the one hand and the grazier on the other. Successive governments in Nigeria, and elsewhere in Africa have at one time or another shown concern about savannah burning through legislation. In 1937, the Forestry Ordinance Law was enacted to prohibit the lighting of fires in forest reserves in northern Nigeria. As this was only limited to protected areas, the Burning of Bush Order was enacted in 1940, which empowered native authorities to fix the season at which bush fires may be lit and to penalize defaulters. As late as 1970, a similar law was enacted by the Military Governor of the Western State in view of the prevailing drought at that time. Similar laws controlling savannah burning have been promulgated in other parts of Africa. (See for example the Uganda Careless Use of Fire Prevention Ordinance 1920, the Sierra Leone Bush Fire Prevention Ordinance 1924, the Nyasaland Bush Fire Ordinance 1932, the Northern Rhodesia Bush Fire and Trespass Ordinance 1948, etc.) Despite all these government actions savannah burning is still practised. This paper discusses the reasons for which savannah is burnt, the conflicts of interests arising from savannah burning, the effects of burning on the ecosystem, and the possible use of fire in the management of range-lands for wildlife.
