On Tuesday, Mauritania witnessed military and civil efforts that have been going on for 3 days to put out a massive fire in pastoral areas in the east of the country.
The official news agency reported that a “massive fire” consumed vast pastoral areas in the Paskno region (east).
“The fire has so far spread over an area of 60 km in length and 30 km in width,” she said.
And she added that teams from the army and dozens of residents of the area have been participating in continuous efforts for 3 days to put out the fire, but it was not brought under control until Tuesday evening.
In mid-October, this area witnessed a fire that consumed dozens of kilometers of natural pastures.
Annually, fires destroy between 50 and 200 thousand hectares (one hectare is equivalent to 10 thousand square meters) of natural pastures in Mauritania, according to a previous statement by the Minister of Environment, Maryam Bakay.
On a daily basis, desertification devours the country’s green spaces; Due to droughts and excessive cutting of forest trees and fires, 84 percent of the country’s area is now suffering from this danger, according to the Ministry of Environment.
The government says it intends to implement a plan to restore about 30,000 hectares of forests by 2030.
The majority of Mauritania’s population depends on raising livestock, and livestock is estimated at more than 22 million heads, according to official figures from the Ministry of Economy.
The country also owns 1.4 million heads of camels, 1.8 million heads of cows, and 19.3 million heads of small ruminants (goats and sheep), and this wealth is increasing continuously at a rate of more than 3.5 percent annually.
