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How vulnerable are forests to wildfires in India? |
- A report titled Forest Fire Disaster Management, prepared by the National Institute of Disaster Management, a body under the Ministry of Home Affairs, in 2012, said about half of India’s forests were prone to fires.
- 43% were prone to occasional fires and 5% to frequent fires, and 1% were at high or very high risk, the report said, quoting data from, a compilation of 25 years of observations and analyses.
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What is the primary reason for wildfires in India? |
- More than 95% of wildfires in India were man-made, the Forest Survey of India’s State Forest Report, 1995 said. Villagers reportedly burn leaves and grass in order to get better growth of grass the following year. They also burn the needles of the chir pine, which form a slippery carpet on the ground.
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What are the negative consequences of wildfires? |
- The 2012 report estimated the annual replacement cost of seedlings at Rs 4,400 million. The real losses however, are ecological and social — those of biodiversity, timber, soil moisture and nutrients, etc., besides the environmental impact of heavy smoke rising from the fires.
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Is there any benefit of periodic forest fires? |
- Wildfires are sometimes a natural process, and help forests by promoting flowering, branching and seedling establishment.
- Fires that are limited to the surface may help in the natural regeneration of forests. The heating of the soil may result in helpful microbial activity, and hasten decaying processes that are useful for the vegetation.
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How have the authorities been doing for tackling the fires? |
- Forest officials say the traditional method of “beating the fire down” with green branches & ‘Fire Breaks’ work best.
- IAF aircrafts fly sorties to dump water picked from the neighboring lakes.
- Running awareness campaigns.
- Banning people from carrying matchboxes.
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How effective have been these measures? |
- According to critics these measures are too little.
- Many have argued for more modern systems of fire monitoring alongside traditional methods like maintaining fire lines, so there is a clearing between two forests to prevent the fire from spreading from one to the other.
- There is need for greater interaction between villagers and the Forest Department.
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What should be the disaster plan to tackle wildfires? |
- State governments should Involve their community-led ‘ van panchayats’ (forest councils) in preventing fires.
- Provide environmental education to local residents and officials.
- The clearing of ecologically important natural oak forests can be reduced by tapping the plantation sector, which could give preference to growing useful fodder and timber trees.
- Finally, the imperative is to stop the havoc wrought by man-made fires, and compensate those affected.
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