Fiji Pine Ltd has begun its fire awareness campaign for the year in villages and settlements nationwide where its six pine stations are located.
The fire and silviculture departments of the Bua, Macuata and Ra pine stations have started the campaigns with the distribution of pamphlets and face-to-face outreach with the aim of creating a partnership this year.
Bua Station Silviculture and forest protection officer Watekini Taga said officers from Lekutu Community Police are involved in the campaign this year because the province had lost thousands of hectares of pine forest and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fire.
He said most fires were caused by arson so “we’re not taking this lightly anymore”.
He said the campaign had started in Wairiki, Nawaca, Rakani, Naruwai, Kawakawavesi, Vanuavou, Veisea and Dawara.
In Ra, the campaign has started in Nakinawai and Caboni Settlements.
Fiji Pine urged residents to keep watch on pine forests near them.
“Fiji Pine Limited invests significant amounts of resources and money on forest protection, which includes fire awareness campaigns, building fire breaks in the forests, employing company cowboys to keep a watch on stray animals, and also building fire watch towers in all the forests,” the company stated.
And part of its long term sustainability, it is investing in installation of fire towers to look out for fire incidents.
“The most important thing during this drier period is the firebreak – an area or a road that acts as a buffer that separates one stand from the other within a planning unit.”
The company said it has also restricted access into some pine areas following an increase in the number of pine fires reported, especially in Bua and the Western Division.
