The last few years have seen a dramatic rise in heatwaves and droughts across the world, leading to an increased frequency of wildfires that have destroyed millions of acres of land and killed thousands of people. In 2020, Australia’s “Black Summer” destroyed thousands of houses and killed or displaced three billion animals. Though Australia deals with wildfires on a yearly basis, these extreme climactic events are now occurring in areas where they are extremely uncommon or altogether unprecedented, including in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and the European Union. Given the mounting evidence that uncontrollable fires are becoming a more common occurrence across the globe, it has become clearer than ever that India, too, must enhance its preparedness levels.
Wildfires have already become more frequent in India. Over the past year, several incidents have been recorded in wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Gujarat.
From the beginning of the year to March 31, there were 136,604 fire points across the country. Moreover, this is not an aberration but a consistent trend, as evidenced by the fact that there were 345,989 forest fires from November 2020 to June 2021, a five-year high.
The northeastern and central regions in particular are at high risk due to their extensive forest cover and intermittently dry and hot weather.
The Forest Survey of India notes that 22.7% of India’s forests are “extremely fire-prone.” Apart from the immediate threat to humans and wildlife, a report jointly published by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the World Bank found that India loses around Rs 1,176 crores ($147.2 million) each year due to forest fires.
Recently a large part of #Australian forest was burning. True for #Amazon. It happens in many parts in #India also. Just watch how quick & dangerous #forest fire can get. It moves so fast in all directions, especially crown fire that reaction time is not available. ABC Canbera. pic.twitter.com/2BBl3kCI8s
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) January 29, 2020
Yet, despite these alarming figures, India’s policies remain severely insufficient, particularly on a legislative level.
Vijendra Ajnabi, a natural resource management expert at Oxfam, says, “Forest fires are yet to be a priority issue. That is why you don’t usually hear this being discussed in the parliament.”
To begin with, forest fire management departments and staff are greatly under-resourced, with the government allocating merely $5-6 million to the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Fund each year.
Unsurprisingly, this has created several logistical issues. According to the Standing Fire Advisory Committee, there is an 80% shortage of firefighting and rescue vehicles and a 96% shortage of firefighters.
February is the start of forest fire season in the country. Forest fires are mostly anthropogenic. Forest Survey of India (FSI) have made near real time based alert system (Fast 3.0) and VanAgni 2.0 geo portal which have been extremely helpful in fire detection and mitigation. pic.twitter.com/su9lfsF9Qc
— Ramesh Pandey (@rameshpandeyifs) February 5, 2022
Furthermore, forest fires have not been recognised as a natural disaster under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which in turn restricts the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) from deploying the necessary personnel and equipment for rehabilitation and rescue operations as it would in a tsunami or an earthquake.
The National Forest Commission has recommended that forest fires be treated as a “state disaster,” which would allow the State Disaster Management Authority to take emergency measures. Similarly, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water has suggested that such fires be declared as “natural disasters,” while the National Green Tribunal has proposed that the MoEFCC introduce a national policy on forest fire management.
According to NDMA member Krishna Vatsa, forest fires have not been listed as natural disasters because they are often man-made and a product of agricultural practices.
In fact, the Forest Act of 1927, and the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 merely determine liability and penalties in case of man-made fires and do not put forward any requirements on emergency response.
A deep dive into #data on #forest fires revealed:
— FactChecker.in (@FactCheckIndia) April 28, 2022
- India lost 2.82 mha land to forest fires in just 3 months in 2021
- There has been a 14-time rise in forest fire alerts in last 6 years
- Occurrences of forest fires went up 10 times in past 2 decadeshttps://t.co/3tnuVHzbuN
Without a national law on the issue, states prone to fires have been forced to introduce their own policies. For instance, Chhattisgarh mandates using Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing to detect and curb fires. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh has pioneered an SMS-based mechanism to inform field staff of fires. Similar policies to expend state resources are also found in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Himachal Pradesh.
However, the absence of a uniform policy that enables national authorities and central ministries to issue standard operating procedures and comprehensive guidelines on forest fire mitigation, along with post-fire reporting and assessment of damages, is telling.
The wildfires in Europe this year have shown the importance of cross-boundary cooperation as well as common operating protocols and standards. As France struggled to contain its wildfires, countries across the European Union dispatched equipment and firefighters to help extinguish the flames.
A Forest Fire fighting and Mock drill were organised, for the department staff. This was organised with the fire department, at Madikeri.#india #karnataka #forest #wildlife #saplings #trees #nature #conservation #afforestation #ecology #fire #madikeri pic.twitter.com/LDQZNuYDCf
— Karnataka Forest Department (@aranya_kfd) January 27, 2020
Unlike Europe, India does not necessarily need to turn to its neighbours for help. Instead, it can turn inwards and look to its sizeable Indigenous and tribal communities, many of which are deeply integrated with forests and possess vast knowledge of age-old and inexpensive practices to contain fires.
Apart from knowledge exchange, such interactions would also increase cooperation between these communities and the forest department and facilitate the dissemination of information and community training.
In fact, the Forest Act mandates these communities to cooperate with the Forest Department to help them contain fires. Similarly, the 2018 National Action Plan on Forest Fires recommends the need to strengthen cooperation between local communities and government departments.
A study conducted by the Centre for People’s Collection concluded that including forest communities in fire management caused 70% fewer incidents.
However, with Indigenous communities increasingly being stripped of their rights and access to forest resources, distrust has exacerbated tensions with fire departments and reduced communication.
It this, therefore, high time for India to legally recognise forest fires as natural disasters and strengthen central-state and inter-state cooperation. Simultaneously, it is of crucial importance to mend relations with Indigenous and tribal communities to fully take advantage of their physical proximity to the fires and also tap into their deep well of knowledge on how to contain them to create more effective forest management practices.