Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

400 hectares of forests damaged in fire this summer

Roy Mathew

New fully effective strategies needed to prevent the blaze

FIGHTING FIRE: Controlled fire being used for protection of a reed break.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Forest fires have become an annual event in Kerala. However, fully effective strategies are yet to be worked out for prevention, detection and control of the fires.

About 400 hectares of forests were damaged in the fires in the protected areas of the State this summer. The statistics regarding remaining forests are yet to be compiled. (Protected areas constitute less than a quarter of the forests in the State).

Fire devastated forests and grasslands in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Parambikulam, Wayanad and Peppara wildlife sanctuaries, Ponmudi, Nelliyampathy, Peerumedu, Vagamon and other places. The Eravikulam National Park and nearby areas have been free of fire so far.

The summer rain last week has reduced the chances of fires in the coming days. However, that situation will change if the remaining weeks of summer go without rain.

Controlled fires

The Forest Department had been adopting controlled fires, clearing of firelines and posting of firewatchers to prevent fire. Apparently, they were not being fully effective as could be seen from the fact that hundreds of hectares of forests had been catching fire every year.

Besides, these methods have their own drawbacks. Controlled fires cause destruction of forests. It was controlled burning of grasslands at the Periyar Tiger Reserve that spread to other areas. (The controlled burning done at the reserve was not for fire protection. It was done to facilitate growing of fresh grass for animals on the ground that they disfavour hard grass. While this is the stated forest-management objective, it is also done to keep animals coming to tourist zones).

Firelines

Firelines are usually taken on roadsides and around plantations, sholas and reedbreaks. Both controlled burning of litter on the roadsides as well as firelines work best for forest plantations.

However, loss of vegetation and costs may outweigh benefits of firelines in forests except in areas traversed by a lot of people.

Firelines around sholas, which is intended to prevent fire on the grasslands from spreading to the sholas, may prevent expansion of sholas when favourable conditions exist.

Firelines are no guarantee against fires caused deliberately by encroachers, gatherers of minor forest produce (especially honey), trekkers and others. There is reason to believe that a majority of forest fires are caused deliberately, especially this year.

Firewatchers

Appointment of firewatchers remains to be one of the best ways to keep fire at bay. However, politicisation of the postings is tending to neutralise its benefits. Firewatchers engaged during one summer may get dropped next year. When there is a change in Government or even a Forest Minister, a new group may come in. Those who lost their jobs sometimes take their revenge by setting fire to forests. There are allegations that a number of fires this year were set off by former firewatchers. The problem can be solved only if the postings are depoliticised and a permanent pool of watchers who can be employed by turns created.

Draft policy

The draft forest policy says that the prevention and control of forest fires will be the priority of the Forest Department. Modern techniques for prevention, detection and control of forest fires will be employed. Clarity is still lacking on the techniques proposed and their practicability.

The Cabinet has already decided to buy a helicopter for disaster management. This can be used for trying methods such as dropping of carbon dioxide tablets to contain fires. However, aerial surveillance and detection of fires can be costly.

Modern methods

For fire prevention, a supposedly modern method is to separate entire forest areas into blocks divided by firebreaks of five to six metres instead of merely cutting firelines at vulnerable areas. This will be equivalent to drawing a power line through the forests, leading to lose of much vegetation. It is notable that a power line through forests will require forest clearance from the Centre. The firebreaks will only help to prevent ground fire and will not be of much use against those setting fire to forests deliberately.

Chief Conservator of Forests (Protection) C.S. Yalakki said that rationalisation of methods and deployment of resources was called for in fire prevention and control. The department will be working towards this end in the coming months by identifying fire-prone areas and focussing resources in those places.

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