2025 Etosha fires destroy 37% of park

More than 853 000 hectares of Etosha National Park went up in flames last year, destroying 37% of the country’s flagship wildlife sanctuary.Environment minister Indileni Daniel last week described the scale of the destruction as a “sobering” number that demands serious institutional attention.Daniel disclosed the extent of the 2025 wildfire damage while responding to questions in the National Assembly, laying out the causes of the fires, wildlife losses and measures being introduced to prevent a repeat of the devastation.“This is a sobering figure that demands and has received serious institutional attention," she told lawmakers. The disclosure comes as Etosha has again been battling fires over recent weeks.Just last week, firefighting teams were deployed to several lightning-sparked blazes in the Halali area, as well as the Kamaseb and Tsam blocks.The minister said the fires had since been brought largely under control.‘Lessons learned’Daniel said the September-to-October 2025 fire season was characterised by what she described as a “significant breakdown in traditional fire seasonality and geographic boundaries”.A post-season assessment identified two primary categories of causes.“First, fires originating outside the park that spread inward, particularly into the western section extending northward into Omutambo-Gomawe,” she said.“Second, lightning strikes, which were identified as the likely primary cause of intense fire activity in the eastern section of the park.”But the minister also acknowledged the role of human recklessness.“Human-related causes were also identified from charcoal burning in a farm adjacent to the park,” Daniel said.The scale of the blazes prompted the ministry to review Etosha’s wildfire preparedness and response, resulting in the Etosha National Park Fire Management Planning Workshop from 27 to 29 April.The workshop produced an after-action review, an updated fire operational plan and recommendations for future fire management.“The ministry has drawn significant lessons from this tragedy,” Daniel said.Those lessons include examining which firefighting strategies worked and which failed, improving coordination between agencies and ensuring fire plans are translated into action across Etosha's three management zones.Daniel said the ministry is also strengthening early warning systems and advocating for automated weather stations to improve environmental monitoring and fire prediction.Preparedness testedThe latest fires provided an immediate test of those preparations.Firefighting teams have been battling blazes in the Halali, Kamaseb and Tsam areas, with well-maintained firebreaks helping to slow the spread.The recently graded Dungaries–Kamaseb and Dungaries–Trentaal cutlines helped protect surrounding areas, according to the ministry.Forestry director Johnson Ndokosho and Etosha deputy director Naambo Iipinge said firefighting teams remained on the ground monitoring hotspots and working to extinguish remaining fires.No injured or dead wildlife had been reported from the latest fires.An additional fire engine and more personnel are expected to be deployed to Etosha to strengthen the response.Daniel said the ministry is turning to proactive measures to reduce the amount of combustible vegetation available when fires break out.One of those measures is patch mosaic burning, a controlled-burning technique designed to reduce fuel loads before the peak fire season.The ministry plans to cap the practice at no more than 30% of the park at any given time.For the 2026/27 financial year, N$2 million has been allocated for fire management, supplemented by N$207,059 from the Skeleton Coast-Etosha Conservation Bridge programme funded through the Legacy Landscape Fund.Daniel said the ministry would also work jointly with the Namibia Defence Force, neighbouring farms and communities to increase firefighting capacity.Wildlife deathsWhile the fire affected a huge portion of the park, Daniel said the recorded wildlife deaths were relatively small when compared with the overall populations of affected species.“Yes, wildlife was lost including elephants, giraffes, and a rhino calf – and the ministry does not minimise the grief that such losses evoke,” she said.She said fires killed four elephants, two giraffes, one plains zebra and six springbok.“However, when assessed against the population size of each affected species, the resulting mortality was found to be insignificant relative to overall population levels.”nikanor@nmh-hub.com.na

2025 Etosha fires destroy 37% of park

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-22

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2025 Etosha fires destroy 37% of park

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Namibian Sun 2026-09-22

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