A COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM FOR FIRE MANAGEMENT IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CAPE PROVINCE, SOUTH-AFRICA

This paper describes a Catchment Management System (CMS) that provides objective procedures for managing fire. Prescribed burning is carried out in the mountain catchments of the Cape Province, South Africa, to enhance water yield, to rejuvenate the indigenous shrubland vegetatio n, to reduce fire hazard and to control invasive alien plants. Fire is the only practical tool for achieving these aims in the mountainous t errain. Recent research has improved understanding of the response of these systems to fire, but managing fire to achieve goals is very diff icult. The CMS comprises a central geographical information system for managing and processing spatial data, linked to personal computers wi th DBase IV data-bases and simple rule-based models for decision-makin g. Current applications are: prioritization of areas for burning, moni toring the success of fire management, mapping fire hazard for fire co ntrol planning, and the production of management summaries and statist ics. This paper presents examples of these applications from three are as in the Cape Province with different management problems and priorit ies: the Kammanassie in the southern Cape, and the Kogelberg and Table Mountain areas in the western Cape.