Abstract:
Conservation managers frequently set goals and monitor progress toward
them. This often becomes a routine annual exercise, and periodic reflection
over longer periods is done less often, if at all. We report on the annual monitoring
of fire patterns in the Kruger National Park between 2012 and 2020, and
examine how these compared with desired thresholds of spatial extent and
intensity. These thresholds were based on decades of research and were aimed
at achieving specific ecological outcomes. The patterns were outside of thresholds
in two out of five fire management zones. In one (Zone 1), the goal was to
encourage frequent burning, and this was marginally not achieved due to a
severe drought during the period assessed. In Zone 3, a reduction in extent
and intensity was desired, but thresholds for both were substantially exceeded.
An exceedance in any given year might not trigger a management response,
but if this occurs over multiple years it should trigger an examination of
whether these exceedances affected the desired ecological outcomes. On reflection,
we recommend that current management in four zones need not change,
but that Zone 3 would require appropriate interventions. The available options
can simultaneously produce positive and negative conservation outcomes, so
trade-offs become necessary. By reflecting on research findings and management
challenges, the advantages and disadvantages of available options have become clear, providing a basis for prioritization and compromise.
