The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Forest fires: a response

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 26, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Forest fires: a response

The Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, and Chief Wildlife Warden, Department of Forest and Wildlife, Thiruvananthapuram, writes, responding to the news item headlined "400 hectares of forests damaged in fire this summer" (The Hindu, April 23, page 4):

In the Periyar Tiger Reserve, sporadic fires occurred only in the tall grass areas and there was no damage to the woody vegetation as stated in Paragraph 3.

Controlled fires constitute a prescribed management practice as stated in the Management Plan of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, which is carried out only in tall grasslands on a rotation basis. Hence, no harm to the forest is caused as mentioned in the paragraph sub-titled "controlled fires."

Controlled burning of grasslands in the Kavalapara area of the Periyar Tiger Reserve was carried out after taking adequate measures and adopting all safety measures as mentioned in the Management Plan. As this area is flanked by the Periyar lake on three sides, the chance of the fire spreading to other areas as reported is quite minimal.

The basic logic of controlled burning is to prevent disastrous late fires and provide a better habitat condition for herbivores. Since the Periyar Tiger Reserve faced drought conditions this summer, controlled burning was used as an effective management tool to preserve and improve the potential foraging grounds of herbivores, and not to make animals visit the tourism zone, as mentioned in the report.

The contention that controlled burning done at the reserve was not for fire protection is hence not true.

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