Challenges & Management of Forest Fires in India (Critical Analysis)

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According to the forest inventory records, 54.40% of forests in India are exposed to occasional fires, 7.49% to moderately frequent fires and 2.405% to high incidence levels. In recent years, forest fires were witnessed in Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Uttarakhand alone has witnessed over 1,000 incidents of forest fire over the last six months.

Reasons Behind Forest Fires include:

• Natural causes: High atmospheric temperatures and dryness (low humidity) offer favorable circumstances for a fire to start. Other natural causes are lightning, friction of bamboos swaying due to high wind velocity and rolling stones that result in sparks setting off fires in highly inflammable leaf litter on the forest floor.
• Anthropogenic causes: It includes practice of shifting cultivation, throwing burning bidis/cigarettes, flushing tendu leaves, etc. More than 95% forest fires are caused either by negligence or unknowingly by humans.

Measures :

• Preventive: Forest fires are usually seasonal. They usually start in the dry season. Hence, through adequate checks forest fires can be prevented. This can be done through: Mapping of potentially vulnerable areas and establishment of preventions and containment plans Creation of firefighting resources such as equipments, transportation, communication devices and trained manpower. Awareness generation: People who rely on the forests for their livelihood and tourists who visit the forests should be made aware of the threat of forest fires. Clear guidelines must be given to people and vehicles that traverse through forests.

• Curative: Fire fighters use Helicopters, airplanes and ground-based personnel to spray fire retardant chemicals, or pump water to fight the blaze. This is very expensive and not widely practiced in India. Creation of fire line:  A fire line is a line through a forest which has been cleared of all vegetation. Once the blaze has burnt out all combustibles in the affected compartment, it vanishes out and the neighbouring compartments are saved. Creation of counter fire: Firefighters create a second fire called counter fire. The counter fire rushes towards the wildfire, leaving a stretch of burnt ground. As soon as the two fires meet, the blaze is extinguished.

Challenges of Forest Fire Management in India are:

• Lack of appropriate policy and planning to tackle forest fire: Existing forest policy and other documents, including plans etc. lack clear guidelines for forest fire management.

• Lack of proper institutional mechanisms: A proper institutional mechanism with the sole responsibility of fire management is lacking within the forest department.

• Emphasis on response only: Very less or negligible importance is given to other issues regarding forest fires i.e., mitigation, preparedness, human resource development, awareness creation, etc.

• Lack of scientific approach to collect fire data and document it: The Forest Survey of India has recently started compiling forest fire data, however, at the State level, there is no concrete effort to collect and document such data and use them in research and planning.

• Other issues: These include lack of initiatives to involve the local communities, irresponsible behaviour of citizens, lack of funding and coordination with minimal information sharing etc.

Steps Taken by the Government for Forest Fire Management in India:

• National Plan for forest fire management:

• Strengthening of organizational framework: Through appropriate modification and alteration in State Forest Departments’ structural framework and provision for sufficient human power.

• National Forest Fire Danger Rating System: Designing uniform system of Forest Fire Danger Rating and reporting for all States/Union Territories.

• Creation of a national forest fire control board: With the task of supervising the control of devastating forest fire in exigencies in fragile areas like the Himalayan zone, Western Ghats etc.

• Promotion of people’s participation: Through involvement of NGOs, Voluntary Organisations, Village Forest Committees (VFCs) etc.

• Forest Fire Prevention & Management Scheme (FFPMS): It is a centrally sponsored scheme with an aim to focus solely on the issue of forest fire prevention and management and related activities, to address the growing concern over adverse effects of forest fires.

• Real time data monitoring: The Forest Survey of India has developed the Forest Fire Alert System to monitor forest fires in real time. The system uses satellite information gathered from NASA and ISRO.

In this context, investing in modern technologies for fire detection, as well as adequate fire suppression and safety equipment, while at the same time, working to build capacity across the ranks of forest officers and improving accountability will help India to control forest fires.

WAY FORWARD:

• India has set ambitious policy goals to meet its INDC commitments under the Paris deal. A large share of its carbon sink for this is planned to be created through improving the quality and quantity of its forests. However, The World Bank has pointed out that forest fires pose a serious threat to India’s ability to expand its forest and tree cover by 2030.

• Uncontrolled fires are a complex problem that requires a comprehensive and long term policy. It demands proper co-ordination mechanisms between the community, state governments, the forest departments, National Disaster Management Authority and the MoEF&CC. Hence the government should come up with a national policy on forest fires. In fact, the National Green Tribunal has repeatedly asked the MoEF&CC to come out with a national policy on forest fires.

• The NDMA should be given a greater role in the management of forest fires. Since forest fires are not typically treated as disasters, the disaster management authorities have so far played a minor role in this matter. Hence, forest fires should be treated as disasters so that disaster management authorities can play a major role in planning and managing them.

• Community participation is vital for the success of any disaster management strategy. Hence in case of forest fire management, the active participation of people, especially the tribal communities needs to be ensured. For the same, initiative like joint forest management and social forestry can be encouraged. 

• In a climate uncertain future, India’s vulnerability towards forest fires is expected to rise in the coming years. Considering its socioeconomic impact on the country, tackling forest fires is of prime important.