What is the news ?

• Himachal Pradesh frequently witnesses forest fires during dry weather conditions. This month, a forest fire which started near Kullu raged for several days before being brought under control. Forest fires were also reported in Shimla and other parts of the state.

 

What is the forest cover of Himachal Pradesh?

• Although two-thirds of the total geographical area of Himachal Pradesh is legally classified as forest area, much of this area is permanently under snow, glaciers, cold desert or alpine meadows and is above the tree line. This leaves an effective forest cover of around 28 percent of the total area which amounts to 15,434 square kilometres, as per the Forest Survey of India. Chir Pine, Deodar, Oak, Kail, Fir and Spruce are some of the common trees found here.

 

How fire prone are these forests?

• Except for periods of precipitation in monsoon and winter, the forests remain vulnerable to wildfires. Forest fires are a recurrent annual phenomenon in the state, and most commonly occur in Chir Pine forests.
• In the summer season, forest fires occur frequently in the low and middle hills of the state, where forests of Chir Pine are common. The dry summer season from March to June coincides with the shedding of highly-combustible needles by Chir Pine trees. Once the fallen dry needles catch fire, it can spread quickly over the entire forest due to the action of the wind. However, due to their thick bark, the Chir Pine trees are themselves relatively unharmed by these fires, and can spring back to life during the monsoon season.
• During the post-monsoon season and in winters, forest fires are also reported in higher areas, including parts of Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Kangra and Mandi districts, where they usually occur in grasslands.

 

Forest Fires:

• Fire can play a vital role in keeping the forests healthy, recycling nutrients, helping tree species regenerate, removing invasive weeds and pathogens, and maintaining habitat for some wildlife.
• As populations and demands on forest resources have grown, the cycle of fire has spun out of balance.
• Forest fires have become an issue of global concern. In many countries, wildfires are burning larger areas, and fire seasons are growing longer due to global warming.
• Globally, forest fires release billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, while hundreds of thousands of people are believed to die due to illnesses caused by exposure to smoke from forest fires and other landscape fires.

 

Major Forest fire regions in India

• Forest fires are a major cause of degradation of India’s forests. Human-made forest fires in the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have been a regular and historic feature. The Himalayan forests, particularly, Garhwal Himalayas witness major fire incidents.
• Forests with chir pine are very prone to fire as they easily catch fire.
• 291 forest fires have occurred in Uttarakhand, 2,422 in Chhattisgarh and 2,349 in Odisha. Madhya Pradesh reported 2,238 forest fires.
• Maharastra, Assam and Andhra Pradesh states also reported several incidents of Forest fires in the recent past.

 

Reasons for Forest Fires:

• Thunderstorms are the most likely natural cause for forest fires.
• The dry deciduous forests in central and southern India face 5 to 6 months of dry period and are vulnerable to fires.
• The reasons are mainly manmade, particularly in cases where people visit forests and leave burning bidis, cigarette stubs or other inflammable materials.
• A major reason for forest fires in north-east India is slash-and-burn cultivation, commonly called jhum cultivation.
• The north-east has tropical evergreen forests which are not likely to catch fire easily on their own like the dry deciduous forests of central and southern India.

 

India’s Initiative to Tackle Forest Fire:

National Action Plan on Forest Fires (NAPFF):

• It was launched in 2018 to minimise forest fires by informing, enabling and empowering forest fringe communities and incentivising them to work with the State Forest Departments.
• The plan also intends to substantially reduce the vulnerability of forests across diverse forest ecosystems in the country against fire hazards.
• It also aims to enhance capabilities of forest personnel and institutions in fighting fires and swift recovery subsequent to fire incidents.

 

Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme:

• The Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme (FPM) is the only centrally funded program specifically dedicated to assist the states in dealing with forest fires.
• The FPM replaced the Intensification of Forest Management Scheme (IFMS) in 2017.
• Funds allocated under the FPM are according to a center-state cost-sharing formula, with a 90:10 ratio of central to state funding in the Northeast and Western Himalayan regions and a 60:40 ratio for all other states.
• It also provides the states to have the flexibility to direct a portion of the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and Mission for Green India (GIM) funding toward forest fire work.
• India has set ambitious policy goals for improving the sustainability of its forests.
• As part of the National Mission for Green India under India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change, the government has committed to increase forest and tree cover.
• Under its Nationally Determined Contribution, India has committed to bringing 33% of its geographical area under forest cover and to create additional sinks of 2.5 billion to 3 billion tons worth of CO2 stored in its forests by 2030.

 

MoEFCC guidelines :

• MoEFCC issued a set of national guidelines for forest fire prevention and control in 2000. These guidelines call for:
• identification and mapping of all fire prone areas,
• compilation and analysis of database on forest fire damages,
• development and installation of Fire Damage Rating System and Fire Forecasting system,
• all preventive measures to be taken before the beginning of the fire season

 

NDMA Guidelines:Major recommendations include:

• Incorporate Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FFPM) in existing policy and planning documents
• Establish National Forest fire Knowledge Network
• Capacity building of forest officials for better use of early warning systems
• Assess risk and prepare vulnerability and risk maps
• Document national and international good practices and utilise them for making forest fire management more effective and practical
• Increase community awareness

 

Impacts of Forest Fires on Environment

• Loss of valuable timber resources
• degradation of catchment areas
• loss of biodiversity and extinction of plants and animals
• global warming
• loss of carbon sink resource and increase in percentage of CO2 in atmosphere
• change in the microclimate of the area with unhealthy living conditions
• soil erosion affecting productivity of soils and production
• ozone layer depletion
• loss of livelihood for tribal people and the rural poor

 

What are the fuels of such massive fires?

• The dry leaf litter on the forest ground acts as a ready fuel. Fallen tree leaves, dry grass, weeds, low brushwood, deadwood on the forest floor, logs and stumps etc form the surface fuels. Below the loose litter, decaying materials such as humus, wood, shrubs, roots, much and peat can also support the combustion. Above the surface level, dry standing trees, mosses, lichens, dry epiphytic or parasitic plants, and fallen branches trapped in the understorey can spread the fire to the upper foliage and the tree crowns.

 

How much damage do the forest fires cause?

• Forest fires can cause a lot of damage to the regeneration in the forests and their productivity. Moisture-loving trees such as Oaks and Deodars may give way to other species and exotic weeds. Forests help maintain aquifers and continuous flow of streams and springs, and provide firewood, fodder and non-timber produce to the local communities – all these capacities may get adversely affected in case of a fire.
• Forest fires may destroy organic matter in the soil and expose the top layer to erosion. They may also impact the wildlife by burning eggs, killing young animals and driving the adult animals away from their safe haven. Sometimes, a forest fire may get out of control and extend to human settlements, thus posing danger to human life and property.
• According to the Himachal forest department, forest fires cause an estimated loss of several crore rupees each year. From 2016-17 to 2019-20, the annual loss to the state due to forest fires has ranged from Rs 1.7 crore to Rs 3.5 crore. Around 1,200 to 2,500 forest fires were reported each year during this period affecting thousands of hectares.

 

Are the recent forest fires unusual?

• Forest fires are common every time a dry spell hits the state. Himachal witnessed unusually dry weather conditions last year from August to November, resulting in drought-like conditions. That period also saw a large number of forest fires – at least 500 fires were recorded from August till early November. Currently, the weather has been dry for the past week, resulting in some fires.

 

What is done to prevent and control forest fires?

• Forecasting fire-prone days using meteorological data, clearing camping sites of dried biomass, early burning of dry litter on the forest floor, growing strips of fire-hardy plant species within the forest, and creating fire lines in the forests are some of the methods to prevent fires (fire lines are strips in the forest kept clear of vegetation to prevent the fire from spreading). Once a fire starts, early detection and quick action by fire-fighting squads is crucial.
• For such activities, the state forest department has a fire protection and fire control unit. In 1999, the state government notified forest fire rules which restrict or regulate certain activities in and around forest areas such as lighting a fire, burning agricultural stubble or undergrowth (ghasnis) and stacking inflammable forest produce such as dried leaves and firewood.

 

Way Ahead:

• At the national level, a cohesive policy or action plan should be formulated to set forth the guiding principles and framework for FFPM. The policy and programmes for forest fire management should incorporate the dimension of climate change
• Forest fire prevention and management practices used by state forest departments also need to be strengthened.
• Greater funding for construction of watchtowers and crew stations and for frontline officers and seasonal firewatchers to spot fires is needed.
• Modern firefighting techniques such as the radio-acoustic sound system for early fire detection and Doppler radar should be adopted.
• There is a need to support forest fire management through improved data and research to fill critical knowledge gaps
• Awareness generation for forest communities and visitors is important to prevent loss of life and injuries. Further, regular drills on escape methods and routes based on forest types should be conducted.