Forest Fires In karnataka : Know About Their Causes, Control & The Policies Related To Them
In the first week of October 2018, as the southwest monsoon retreated from south Karnataka, the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, located 80 km south of Mysuru, was a sight to behold..
The Bandipur Tiger Reserve is flanked by the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala and the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. It is home to nearly 570 tigers, according to the ‘Status of Tigers in India, 2014’ report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. These tigers share the forest with elephants, dholes, leopards and other mammals, making the tiger reserve an ecological hotspot.
When the northeast monsoon failed, it set alarm bells ringing in the Forest Department.
By mid-December, the deciduous forests of Bandipur filled with dry Lantana camara — an invasive weed that covers almost 50% of the 912.04 sq km reserve — had become a powder keg. It was a similar scenario in Wayanad and Mudumalai too.
In both these reserve forests, fewer fire incidents in the last two years had led to an accumulation of combustible material. “The rise in temperature coupled with the dearth of summer rains had turned the entire forest area into a tinderbox.
Apart from rainfall in November/December, dew and mist during winter serve as an insulation against an early outbreak of fire.
People wanted to burn the habitat in the hope that wild animals, especially elephants, would move away in search of fodder and not venture near their villages.
How the fire spread
• The first major fire was reported around noon on February 21, at Bandipur’s Kundukere range. It was brought under control within hours. But there were sporadic incidents of fire on the night of February 22 as well at Melukamanahalli, after which NGOs and volunteers were roped in to assist the field staff.
• The forest authorities then asked for Indian Air Force choppers, which were pressed into service on February 25. With help from the choppers, the wildfire was finally contained on February 26.
• what unfolded in GS Betta was intense, made worse by the thick carpet of dry leaves and foliage.
• This fire gained in intensity before the team could reach there.
• The authorities realised that this was an emergency as a fire atop a hill can travel in no time and hit the valley below.
• The field staff, equipped with sprinklers and jeeps strapped with water containers, began their patrol around Kardikal Betta (which is 3 km from GS Betta) and the road bordering the Maddur range.
• smoke billowing from the far horizon brought to light signs of fresh fires. So this was not just an isolated wildfire raging on the forest fringes but multiple fires wreaking destruction across the landscape.
• Clearly, the available manpower was inadequate to contain it.
Help from tribals and volunteers
Flying drones to good use-The volunteers brought their own set of skills, which bolstered our fire-fighting capabilities. With a drone, we had an eye in the sky to detect smoke in a radius of 3 km,”
However, the first line of defence against forest fires are the tribals, drawn mainly from the Jenu Kuruba, Soliga, and Betta Kuruba tribes. About 400 of them were deployed as fire-watchers, and if not for them, the damage would have been far greater, say officials, underlining the importance of involving local communities in forest conservation initiatives.
Windy weather made the task of containing the flames almost impossible. But as the wind velocity subsided a little, volunteers closed in to clear the shrubs. With the help of the tribals, they created a bald patch of land to starve off the approaching wall of fire.
The normal wind speed in the region is around 5 km per hour. But during the wildfire, it was around 15 km per hour, and that was the root cause of the inferno .By then it had become a do-or-die situation. If Maddur and Moolehole were affected, the wildfire could spread to Wayanad as well.
It was then that the assistance of IAF choppers was sought. Two MI-17 helicopters were pressed into service the same day at 2.30 p.m. Between them, they did about 10 sorties on February 25, pouring out nearly 30,000 litres of water, which helped a great deal in containing the fire. The firefighting staff on the ground gained the upper hand for the first time.
Silvanus Earth Observation, Pune, known for his expertise in the analysis of satellite imagery. “Based on satellite data, he tracked the direction of the fire all through the night. He informed us of potential new fire spots based on the wind direction and the nature of the vegetation in those areas. This helped us prepare adequately. We identified the beats where the fire spots were located and organised our forces accordingly
The National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad, recently released a report based on Sentinel-2 satellite data, which revealed that in Bandipur alone, 15,443.27 acres were damaged by the fire between February 23 and 25.
Given the fact that wildfires have been a part of the forest ecosystem, a section of scientists and conservationists say that forest fires are not all that bad since they help regenerate the vegetation.
Besides, there is a perception among officials that small and controlled fires may be necessary to reduce the piling up dry leaf, dead and decaying wood, and lantana. If that is not done, the next fire could be even bigger, they warn.
These views have sparked a new debate, with conservationists cautioning that frequent and uncontrolled fires could be a disaster for the habitat “repeated fires in short succession are reducing species richness and harming natural regeneration.”
Wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi points out that Bandipur and the adjoining forests have a history of recurring fires. “Uncontrolled forest fires over vast areas not only destroy habitats and food sources of wildlife but also kill smaller mammals, ground-nesting birds (such as pipits, lapwings, nightjars, quails), insects, and reptiles. The valuable leaf litter accumulated on the forest floor, which acts as natural manure for trees and plants, is also destroyed
They show that the forest soil receives temporary nutrient enrichment from the burning but reverts to a lower nutrient content than before within a short span.
Moreover, forest areas frequently affected by fire show an erosion of soil, floral and faunal diversity. They are also more vulnerable to the spread of alien invasive plants,
In the case of Bandipur, there is a clear danger of homogenisation of the habitat, with fire-resistant species such as Anogeissus latifolia and Cassia fistula taking over the landscape
A wake-up call
Though migration is common during the months of February and March, forest fires accentuate the process, says Gubbi. Fire engulfs and burns the natural food sources of herbivores such as elephants, spotted deer, and gaur, preparing the ground for mass migration.
Lack of adequate natural fodder in the forests could escalate human-animal conflict. Elephants could end up venturing into agricultural fields to devour standing crops,
A standard operating procedure will be drafted to ensure that, in the future, the department is better prepared in terms of men, materials, and coordination.
Adding that a fire drill should be held every January, apart from regular interaction with local villagers and tribes on the subject of fire control.
Forest fires are caused both due to natural as well as man-made causes
• Rubbing of dry sticks
• Friction due to rolling stones
Man- Made Causes:
• Shifting Cultivation
• Covering up Illicit felling of trees
• Clearing path through the forest
• Tribal Traditions
According to a report by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, India, the country has seen a 55% rise in the number of forest fires as on December 2016.
The Himalayan regions and the dry deciduous forests of India, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha are ecologically sensitive areas and are most affected by these fires.
Forest fires are as old the forests themselves and are mostly good for the ecology as well as for regeneration. They often helping the forests to get rid of its natural wastes like dry grass, tree needles, and thick bushes.
But as the saying goes: fire is a good servant, but a bad master.
The effects of forest fires include –
• depletion of the ozone layer, soil erosion
• loss of forest cover,
• habitat and the livelihood of many tribal and rural people.
However, the results of a forest fire are more grievous than those mentioned above. For instance, fires clear forests to such extent that the rainwater simply flows through the area without recharging the ground water level.
Forests and related policies
Tribals depend mainly on the forest for their livelihood. As per reports, over 60% of the rural communities depend on the forest directly – for both timber and non-timber forest produce.
Some of the cultivation practices, in particular shifting cultivation practiced mostly in the North-eastern parts of India, are under immense scrutiny, since it is believed to be extremely detrimental to forest cover.
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) was introduced in 2014, to check the usage of unspent money raised by the central and the state governments. To check the money realized by the government in diverting the forest land, a bill called the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill (CAF) was passed in 2015.
One of the most important examples of the failure of CAF was when Kudremukh Iron Ore Company limited (KIOCL) which had been exploiting the rainforests of the Kudremukh hills (Karnataka) from 1980-2005, tried to compensate for such massive loss of ecology by planting a huge number of trees. The problem with such large scale afforestation was that the trees planted were non-native, hence causing more harm than good.
The National Afforestation Program (NAP) “for regeneration of degraded forests and adjoining areas through people’s participation.” The allocated budget for the same in 2015 was Rs.2,500 crore. However, reports suggest that the NAP has not been very successful, owing to the fact that despite huge budget allocation, 40% of the forests in the country are still degraded.
FOREST FIRE CONTROL IN INDIA
During the British rule, fires were controlled by removing forest litter like dry leaves and twigs along the forest lines during the summer season. This would prevent the fire from spreading to the other parts of the forest. This plan is way too simple to be applied to forests which range widely in terms of size.
National Master Plan for Forest Fire Control has been established which aims to:
• Prevent fires by educating the people about the same and increasing people participation in Joint Forest Fire Management.
• Early detection and warning system through a well-co-ordinated system of observation points, efficient ground patrolling and communication network.
• Increased emphasis on training, research, and education.
• Disaster management teams and the forest officials have also need to be effective.
• The need of the hour is to regularly keep track of the state of the forest through images taken from satellites.
• Increased ground staff and establishing a relation between the officials and the tribal people for increased co-operation to avoid such incidents in the future.