Mains Marathon

• Write some examples regarding forest fire incidents in India.
• Discuss the reasons for rising incidents of forest fires in India.
• Explain the steps that can be taken to control them.

Answer

According to the State of Forest Report 2021, approximately 22% area of forest cover in India falls under the highly and extremely fire-prone category. Forests in Assam, Mizoram and Tripura have been identified as ‘extremely prone’ to forest fire. States with large forest areas under the ‘very highly prone’ category include Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. As per the 2020-2021 annual report of the MoEFCC, Western Maharashtra, Southern Chhattisgarh and areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, along with central Odisha, are turning into ‘extremely prone’ forest fire hotspots.

Instances of Forest Fires in 2021 and 2022

Forest fires have been reported in Rajasthan’ Sariska Tiger Reserve, Odisha’s Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh’s Ladkui jungles and the forest areas of the Majhgawan region of Satna district and the Perimalmalai Peak near the Kodaikanal hills of Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district before the end of March, 2022.

In 2021, there were prolonged fires in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh (Kullu Valley) and Nagaland-Manipur border (Dzukou Valley). The Simlipal National Park in Odisha saw a major fire between February-end and early March.

Cause of Forest Fires

• Natural Causes:
  • Naturally occurring forest fires are most frequently caused by lightning and thunderstorms.
  • There are also volcanic, meteor, and coal seam fires, depending on the circumstance.
  • The dry deciduous forests in central and southern India face 5 to 6 months of dry period and are vulnerable to fires.
  • In Uttarakhand, the lack of soil moisture too is being seen as a key factor. In two consecutive monsoon seasons (2019 and 2020), rainfall has been deficient by 18% and 20% of the seasonal average, respectively.
• Anthropological Causes:
  • WWF International in its 2020 report estimated that humans are responsible for 75% of wildfires worldwide and much of the increase in forest fires in 2022 could be linked to human activities
  • Fires of longer duration, increasing intensity, higher frequency and highly inflammable nature are all being linked to climate change.
  • In India, forest fires are most commonly reported during March and April, when the ground has large quantities of dry wood, logs, dead leaves, stumps, dry grass and weeds that can make forests easily go up in flames if there is a trigger.
  • In Odisha, which saw a major fire last month in Simlipal forest, villagers are known to set dry leaves to fire in order to collect mahua flowers, which go into preparation of a local drink.

Impact of Forest Fire

• Forest fires can have multiple adverse effects on the forest cover, soil, tree growth, vegetation, and the overall flora and fauna.
• Fires render several hectares of forest useless and leave behind ash, making it unfit for any vegetation growth.
• Heat generated during the fire destroys animal habitats.
• Soil quality decreases with the alteration in their compositions.
• Soil moisture and fertility, too, is affected.
• Forests can shrink in size.
• The trees that survive fire often remain stunted and growth is severely affected.

Efforts to Mitigate Forest Fires

• Since 2004, the FSI (Forest Survey of India) developed the Forest Fire Alert System to monitor forest fires in real time.
• In its advanced version launched in January 2019, the system now uses satellite information gathered from NASA and ISRO.
• As per, sections 26 and 33 of the Indian Forest Act of 1927 it is a criminal offense to burn or to allow a fire to remain burning in reserved and protected forests.
• Section 30 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 further prohibits setting fire in wildlife sanctuaries. Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is the nodal ministry.
• The National Action Plan on Forest Fires (NAPFF), has been formulated to minimize forest fires from taking place by informing, enabling, and empowering forest fringe communities and maybe incentivizing them to work in tandem with the forest departments.
• Several Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FFPM) Practices are used to prevent forest fire.
  • The clearance of fire lines and conducting controlled burning to limit fuel loads.
  • Other methods may include silvicultural practices such as selective thinning and planting fire-adapted tree species in fire-prone areas. Telangana is the only state to have digitized locations of fire lines.
  • Early warning and fire danger rating systems are also part of the prevention process

However, with all this effort, forest fires are still common, claiming lives, property, and affecting biodiversity. It is time to draw upon some international best practices to make fire management policy and practice more fail-proof.