Disaster Management: Forest Fires – Vulnerability, Preparedness and Mitigation

The vulnerability of the Indian forests to fire varies from place to place depending upon the type of vegetation and the climate. The coniferous forest in the Himalayan region comprising of Chir, Fir, Spruce, Deodar etc. is very prone to fire.

With respect to Himalayas, we note that lower mountain ranges in Himalaya are more prone to forest fires and are one of the most vulnerable stretches in the world. Further, in comparison to Eastern Himalaya, Western / Central Himalaya are more vulnerable to forest fires. This is mainly because Eastern Himalayas get more rainfall in comparison to western. Further, the frequency of fires has increased in western Himalayas mainly due to large expansion of Chir pine whose leaves easily catch fire because of their resin content. As a result of fire the lower stem of Chir tree (previously used for resin tapping) becomes black. It is clear for this tree that this species regenerates strongly if the over storey density is sufficiently low. Crown fire is rarity in the chir forests and the most forest fires are in fact, ground fires.

Apart from Chir, the other plants susceptible to fire include Fir, Spruce, Sal etc. Further, we note that Eucalyptus and Teak are resistant to ground fire when they have aged above five years. Below five years, they are also vulnerable to Forest Fire.

Preparedness and Mitigation Measures

The forest fires are usually seasonal and various regions have different normal and peak fire seasons. In the plains of northern and central India, most of the forest fires occur between February and June. In the hills of northern India fire season starts later and most of the fires are reported between April and June. In the southern part of the country, fire season extends from January to May. In the Himalayan region, fires are common in May and June.

They can be prevented by adequate precautions, for instance removal of litter along the forest boundary {known as Forest Fire Line}. The other way is to create firebreaks in the form of small clearings of ditches in the forests which would then prevent spread of fire.

Key Gaps in Forest Fire Management

The critical gaps in Forest Fire Management in the country are as follows:

• Lack of appropriate policy and planning to tackle forest fire
• Lack of proper Institutional mechanism
• Emphasis on response only
• Not proper scientific approach to collect fire data and document it for forest fire management
• Lack of funding – no separate budget for fires
• Not many initiatives to involve local community
• Poor response to HRD and other capacity building initiatives
• Lack of proper contingency plan and rehearsal/ drills for fire suppression
• Poor early warning system
• Lack of preventive and preparedness measures to ensure better response
• Lack of coordination between departments

What needs to be done? The Action Plan

{This section is based on NDMA Guidelines} There is a necessity to capacitate the forest departments at different levels (national, regional and local) to reduce the vulnerability of Indian forests to fires. This calls for a comprehensive action plan incorporating the suggestions mentioned above to address the gaps present in the forest fire management.

The action plan should incorporate the following suggestions:

• The action plan should aim to strengthen forest fire prevention, preparedness and response mechanism across various levels within the forest department.
• It should be developed after having an interactive consultation process with a variety of key stakeholders within and outside of forest department.
• A framework to strengthen skills and increase capacities to effectively address the menace of forest fires has to be provided to the forest department.
• Forest personnel’s services needs to be upgraded to manage forest fire and reduce the risks.
• Better coordination between key stakeholders at different levels, especially at the local levels has to be ensured.
• A framework to report performance and success has to be created.
• High professionalism on forest fire management has to be promoted among the forest departments.
• Forest dwellers should be made as the ultimate beneficiary.
• Partnerships based on complementarities and mutual comparative advantages with other stake holders like NGOs and Community based organizations (CBOs) has to be promoted.

The following measures have to be adopted to strengthen Forest Departments with respect to forest fire management:

Institutional Setup for Forest Fire Management and stakeholders’ coordination

There is a need to institutionalize capacities for FFM in forest department and to develop a well defined institutional framework within forest departments at national and state levels.

Dedicated policy framework

There is a need to incorporate clear cut guidelines and responsibilities of different role players and other stakeholders for a systematic management of forest fire. As a part of it, forest fire manuals for field staff suggesting them ways to detect/report forest fires has to be developed.

Assess and monitor forest fire risks and increase sustainable application of warning systems.

Knowledge management, capacity building and awareness generation

A national forest fire knowledge network covering all the dimensions of forest fire in the country must be established. Such developed network should address the needs of all the stakeholders, including forest fire managers, policy makers and planners, decision makers, community etc. Central Level Forest Fire Management Institute may be given this responsibility

Technical options for forest fire management

Making use of indigenous knowledge and techniques to detect and suppress forest fire, and upgrading it with scientific inputs and research to make more effective, useful and less expensive strategies to manage forest fires.