MoEFCC Report on Forest Fires

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.

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