Warning from the Ministry of Environment

Do not burn brush, warns the Ministry of Environment. Often, people, unaware of the negative consequences, burn brush and plant debris before or after agricultural work, directly contributing to the destruction of vital components of the environment.

Fires can destroy natural habitats, including forests, individual ecosystems, grasslands, and wetlands. This leads to the loss of important shelters and breeding grounds for various plant and animal species.

Many species, particularly worms, insects, reptiles, small mammals, rodents, and small birds, do not have the ability to protect themselves or escape from fires. They, along with their nests, eggs, young, and so on, can perish due to fire or extreme heat, potentially leading to species extinction or declines in their populations.

Fires can disrupt the delicate balance of ecosystems and interfere with ecological processes such as nutrient cycling, food chain connections, and plant seed dispersal. Such disruption can affect the ability of species and ecosystems to recover.

Some fire-sensitive species may disappear, while fire-resistant species may become dominant. This can result in changes to species composition, disruption of delicate interconnections among them, and loss of biodiversity.

In some ecosystems, long periods are required to recover from fires, especially if the frequency and intensity of the fires exceed the ecosystems' restorative capacities. This prolonged recovery period can jeopardize the restoration of various plant and animal species and their populations.