Madhya Pradesh has lost 77,000 square kilometres of fires to 28,000 incidences of forest fires in March. Uttharakhand has recorded over 1,000 cases of forest fires in the last 6 months. Similipal Tiger Reserve (Odisha), Kullu Valley (Himachal) and Dzukou Valley (Nagaland) have also witnessed their forests being scorched in 2021. Certainly, forests fires are threatening India’s wildlife. But why are India’s Forests Burning?
Forest fires are generally a natural phenomenon, with a plethora of ecological benefits. From creating gaps in the canopy, to encouraging the growth of grasslands and catalysing nutrient recycling, fires play a significant role in habitat enhancement. Furthermore, fires are an efficient method to decimate invasive plants and arthropod pest populations, which are harmful for the local biodiversity.
Forests Burning Proves Devastating
However, in recent times, the frequency of forest fires are becoming unsustainably common. According to a report by the Forest Survey of India, there was a 48% increase in annual incidences of forest fires between 20015 and 2018. The 13 year study found that 21% of India’s forest cover is between highly and extremely prone to fires. North East India, Uttarakhand and the Central Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha were found to be the most vulnerable to fires. The frequency of fires peaks during the dry seasons, particularly between April and May. The extreme heat, lack of moisture and large amounts of dead biomass, provide the ideal conditions for a raging forest fire.
While fires are certainly a vital part of the ecosystem, both the frequency and intensity of fires are excessive. These fires have unprecedented ecological and economic costs. In fact, in 2018, the World Bank estimated that India loses over 1000 crore rupees annually to forest fires. These fires are responsible for severe habitat loss, soil degradation, wildlife mortality and stagnating natural regeneration. Furthermore, these fires are a massive threat to over 92 million people living in or around India’s forests in the form of Injury, death and the loss of livelihood.
The Collection of Forest Products Proves Costly
It is unfortunate to note that 95% of India’s fires are caused by anthropogenic activities. The commencement of the summer during the months of March and April correspond with the fruiting of Mahua and Tendua Plants. These are amongst the major Non Timber Produce collected by communities living around forests, especially around Central India. A common practice utilized by the locals to increase the collection of Tendua leaves and Mahua flowers is to ignite the dead foliage by locals. Furthermore, the timber mafia also have been caught lighting fires in order to destroy evidence of illicit tree felling. The lighting of fires in retaliation to conflict with wildlife is also not infrequent. The recent fires in the Khitauli Zone of Bandhavgarh were ignited by locals to counter the decimation of the neighbouring paddy field by a herd of elephants.
Agriculture is also major catalyst
Agriculture is also a massive cause of forest fires. Lighting a fire is an efficient method used to clear forests for agricultural land across the world, particularly in shifting cultivation. This method of agriculture focuses on periodically changing the location of farming, to allow the regeneration of the natural habitat. Traditionally, the use of fire in shifting cultivation, particularly in the North East, has in fact been beneficial for the environment. The fires catalyse nutrient recycling and hence regeneration. However, recently, the time period of one cycle of shifting cultivation has plummeted significantly from an average of 20 years to a mere 3-5. Such short periods of regeneration instigates severe habitat degradation. This, especially during the summer months, often leads to fires becoming uncontrollable and causes collateral damage to the surrounding forests.
Excessive livestock grazing is also a major contributor to India’s forest fires. With over 500 million livestock clustered predominantly around India’s forests, excessive grazing is unavoidable. Furthermore, small but unsustainably frequent fires are lit within forests to catalyze the growth of grasses, which increases foliage available for the livestock. This encourages habitat degradation and weed proliferation, which further degrades India’s dying grasslands. The latter is probably the foremost contributor to India’s surging fire incidences.
L. camara Leave India’s Forests Burning
Lantana camara, India’s most dominant invasive plant, has created a vicious fire-invasion cycle. The South American weed, first introduced in India, is known for its high reproductive capabilities and adaptations to conditions with limited resources. This has allowed the species to easily invade degraded and fragmented forests. L. Camara often forms dense clumps on the forest floor, while their stems can climb over 20m on nearby trees. Not only does this increase the biomass available for combustion, it exposes the forest canopy to highly destructive crown fires. Ecosystem invisibility is augmented following fires. In fact, Lantana has been observed to grow more densely once burnt. This in turn again increases the forest’s vulnerability to fires, creating a highly destructive cycle.
Chir Pines are also deadly
In the Western Himalayas, a different species, chir pines, is responsible for the state of affairs. Chir Pine Needles, due to their high resin content, are highly inflammable. Furthermore, the aggregation of needles on the forest floor provides unfavourable conditions for the growth of other species barring Lantana. Additionally, the deep roots of pines absorb disproportionately large volumes of volume, increasing the region’s aridness. These provide the ideal conditions for the raging fires, which are occurring particularly in Uttarakhand. Unfortunately, chir pine monoculture plantations are becoming more prevalent across the region. The fast growing nature of the species makes it a valuable source of timber. Replacing oak forests and grasslands with such plantation is a catastrophic disaster.
The Role of Climate Change in Forest Fires
Climate change has also played its part. Sporadic and weakened monsoons, coupled with warmer temperatures have exacerbated fires. With a lack of winter rains, there is significant depletion in air moisture, which prolongs the dry season and therefore encourages more incidences of forest fires. In 2019 and 2020, Uttharakhand noted an 18% and 20% rain deficiency. This was followed by two of the worst fire seasons recorded by the state. With global temperatures inflating uninterruptedly, forest fires are only bound to intensify. Radical measures are required to abate the worsening situation.
Solutions
From early warning systems, to satellite detection and the creation of fire lines, there are numerous mechanisms in place to curb forest fires. However, numerous states have complained about a lack of funding hindering fire fighting operations. Furthermore, there is a genuine lack of prevention mechanisms in place. Majority of efforts are directed towards the curbing of raging fires. Prevention measures are predominantly focused on the creation of fire lines, which aim to restrict fires to a certain section of the forest. Working with local communities to prevent the lighting of fires will go a long way in preventing further decimation of India’s forests.
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