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MoEFCC Report on Forest Fires

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October 15, 2018

Why in news?

Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and World Bank recently released a joint report on forest fires in India.

What are the highlights?

  • At least 60% of districts in India are affected by forest fires each year.
  • The top 20 districts in terms of area affected by fire from 2003 to 2016 account for 48% of the total fire-affected area and they mostly fall in Central India.
  • The 16 of the top 20 districts in terms of fire frequency are located mainly in the Northeast.
  • Here, forest fires tend to be concentrated in a smaller area that is subject to repeated burning.
  • The peak fire season is the most concentrated (shortest) in the Northeast and the Northern state of Bihar.
  • Fires in other regions, particularly districts in Central and Southern India, are more expansive.
  • Districts experiencing widespread and frequent forest fires include areas of dry and moist deciduous forest.
  • These include the borderlands of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Telangana that are affected by fire on a nearly annual basis.
  • Notably, between 2006 and 2015, forest fires were detected in just under half (281 of 614) of the protected areas in India.

https://images.indianexpress.com/2018/10/forest.jpg

What are the proposed reasons?

  • In line with other parts of the world, people are the main driver of fires in India.
  • Forest fires are distributed close to people and infrastructure in India.
  • Also, India’s monsoons are largely responsible for the seasonal nature of forest fires in the country.
  • Forest fires peak during the dry months of March or April before the arrival of the monsoon.
  • The fire season mainly occurs during the four-month period between February 15 and May 15.
  • Besides, the reduced contrast in land-sea temperatures had weakened the engine that drives the monsoon.
  • But it is not yet clear how the drying of the monsoon has affected the intensity or frequency of forest fires.

What is the significance?

  • Forest fires contribute to global warming and hence climate change, by releasing carbon stored in trees, undergrowth and soil into the atmosphere.
  • Given this, the report gains significance with recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's special report on global warming.
  • The findings are crucial for India’s own pledge on creating additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Co2-equivalent by 2030.
  • In the long run, climate shifts due to anthropogenic global warming may further alter India’s forest landscape and fire regime.
  • Also, the MoEF issued national guidelines on Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FFPM) in 2000.
  • But these are no longer being implemented in true spirit.
  • The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has documented the shortage of dedicated funding for FFPM at the central and state levels.
  • The recent report is thus expected to be a key input in issuing a national policy on FFPM.

 

Source: Indian Express

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