Weather alarm bell on forest fires in Northeast

 The forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) that above-normal maximum temperatures are most likely over most parts of the country during the upcoming hot weather season from March to May sounds an alert for the north-eastern states to raise the guard against the incidence of forest fires. Building awareness among people, in addition to technology use, is the key to preventing forest fires and potential disasters. The IMD weather bulletin highlights that monthly maximum temperatures for March 2024 are most likely to be above normal in most areas of Peninsular, Northeastern, and West Central India and in many areas of Northwest India. The devastating forest fires in Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur in the recent past speak volumes about the increase in vulnerability due to the predicted rise in temperature. The faster the alerts are disseminated to the village level, the greater the chance of prevention. Currently, the Forest Survey of India authorities disseminate alerts up to the Forest Beat office level in respect of ten states, which include Mizoram and Tripura, and up to the district level in respect of other states. Monitoring and preventing forest fires is an uphill task for the hilly states of the Northeast region due to communication bottlenecks. Dousing a major fire after it breaks out is daunting due to logistics hurdles, and therefore, monitoring small forest fire incidence and rushing to quickly control and douse it remains the most viable option to prevent a disaster. The FSI detected three large active forest fires in Lawngtlai district of Mizoram and one each in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland on Monday. The satellite-based monitoring of forest fires by FSI has scaled up India’s capacity in forest fire prevention, but the real challenge lies in mobilizing firefighting resources to large forest fire points, which are located in remote locations in dense forests in the region. The FSI’s Large Forest Fire Monitoring Programmes envisage monitoring continuous, large forest fires using near-real time basis data to increase support from state and national agencies such as the State Disaster Management Authority, the National Disaster Management Authority, and the Armed Forces and to support decision-making for tactical firefighting purposes. It also includes identifying areas for post-fire restoration and rehabilitation efforts and carrying out damage assessment from fires in terms of area, severity of burn, canopy cover loss, etc. FSI Report 2021 data shows that more than 36% of forest cover areas in India are prone to frequent forest fires, 4% of forest cover is extremely prone to fire, and 6% of forest cover is very highly fire prone; North-Eastern States showed the highest tendency to forest fire, as these states are falling under extremely to very highly forest fire zones, and Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Manipur “exhibit the highest forest fire probability in terms of their frequency of event occurrence.” The report also states that persistently hotter and drier weather due to climate change and other human factors such as land conversion for agriculture and poor forest management are the main drivers behind the increase in forest fires. Equipping the state Forest Departments in the region with adequate staff and equipment needs to be prioritized in the annual budget allocations of the states. Improved forest management will supplement the satellite-based alerts on the ground for prompt action. Infrastructure projects such as national highways, new railway lines, expansion of existing highways and railway lines, expansion of airports, construction of Greenfield airports and highways, hydroelectric projects, etc. have led to the diversion of forest areas in the region and allowed increased movement of humans through and near the forest areas. This has increased human activities, leading to the outbreak of fire in forests. Large signboards can be displayed along highways and railway lines passing through forest areas, urging people to desist from any act that may lead to an outbreak of fire. Using social media platforms can help reach out to a wider audience and spread awareness. Explaining the IMD prediction in educational institutions, local bodies, traditional social institutions of different tribes and communities, and apex bodies in villages will generate awareness on a mass scale of how society as a whole can play a crucial role in contributing to monitoring and preventing forest fire. Conservation of forests is critical to the conservation of perennial streams and river channels flowing in the hills and the availability of water for dousing forest fires in the event of a major fire outbreak. When water sources are located close to forest fire points, firefighting becomes easier, but when these sources get dried up due to the destruction of ecology at the source, a large fire may turn disastrous quickly. Special awareness drives need to be organized in forest villages in the region to inform them about the hotter and drier weather during this season, increasing the risk of forest fires. Traditional knowledge of forest fire management in the region also needs to be explored for adoption to improve monitoring and prevention.