Alarm as bush fires ravage Burundi's Ruvubu National Park

In Burundi, more than 10,000 hectares of Ruvubu National Park have been destroyed by bushfires.

Understaffed and under equipped, park rangers are constantly battling the flames with little success. The rangers say fire outbreaks have increased in frequency since late July.

“It’s a tough battle during the dry season. These fires are very damaging. We’re trying to deal with them and put them out every day,” said Bosco Ndayikeza, a park ranger.

Poachers are the primary suspects behind the destruction, according to Marc Bakundintwari, the park’s chief manager.

“It’s the poachers—people who enter the park in search of firewood or grazing land for their livestock—and there are trails leading to Tanzania; people crossing over there may also set the park on fire, if only to clear a path,” he said.

Without advanced fire fighting equipment, the fires have been growing in size, eating up one-fifth of the protected area.

Despite its vast size, there are only 45 staff to manage the park.

Covering 50,800 hectares, Ruvubu National Park was established in 1980 and is home to 44 species of mammals, 425 species of birds, reptiles—notably Nile crocodiles—14 species of fish, and more.