Over 1,500 forest fires blazed across the hill tracts of the Western Himalayas between April-end and mid-June this year.  That was more than thrice the number of forest fires recorded in Indian forests last year and one of the worst spate of forest fires of this century.  The brunt of forest fires this summer was borne by the hill districts of Uttar Pradesh viz., Pauri, Tehri and Chamoli Garhwal and Kumaon; Shimla, Solan, Hamirpur, Una, Mandi, Sirmaur, Dharamsala and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh; and, Morni Hills and Raipur Rani in Haryana. 

The hill folks stared helplessly as crackling tongues of flames leapt up from the ground, building up thick clouds of smoke and filling the forest air with the smell of burning wood and dead leaves.  The forest floor was littered with a thick mattress of dead leaves shed by rhododendrons and pine needles from chirs, deodars, oak and other coniferous trees.  An unusually long, hot and dry spell of summer sapped up all the moisture from the forest floor turning it into a virtual tinder box.  It only took a little help or carelessness to set off blazes which swept through nearly 8,000 Sq Kms of forests. 

Chairs are highly inflammable because of their resin content.  Oak coal is a fossil fuel.  Rhododendrons serve as firewood.  This should give you an idea about how inflammable hill forests are. 

The hill folks, the timer mafia, the resin contractors and the forest department are pointing fingers at each other making it obvious that all is not well with Indian forests. While there is no fool-proof method of ascertaining the extent of their involvement in the recent spate of forest fires, their complicity in at least some of the fires cannot be ruled out. 

At least a dozen casualties were reported from different parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.  These include both forest guards as well as locals who succumbed to burn injuries sustained during fire-fighting operations.  News of loss of livestock and damage to property have also poured in from some villages. 

Though a good percentage of the trees have been saved from extensive damage, the undergrowth has suffered complete destruction.  In effect, what this means is that many nests of birds have been burned down.  Small ones of mammals have been roasted alive.  Summer happens to be the peak nesting season for woodland birds, and, this is when mammals have their newborns.  In addition to this, rodents, reptiles, insects and other living beings which could not move fast enough to escape the raging fire became victims of forest fire.  Rare medicinal plants found in these hill tracts were also reduced to ashes. 

Forest fires have become more of an annual phenomenon in India. 
Though no one can say with any degree of certainty whether
these fires are spontaneous, accidental or deliberate,
there is reason to believe that not all of them are natural.

The forest fires increased the temperature, evaporated moisture and depleted the ground level water sources.  It choked the atmosphere, affected the visibility and generally added to environment pollution. 

It is usual for villagers to set fire to dry pine needles and dead leaves littered on the forest floor as these prevent the cattle from getting at the grass which lies buried under them.  The chick carpet of pine needles and dry leaves also hamper growth of fresh grass when monsoon arrives.  It also renders the forest floor slippery for people and their livestock making it difficult for them to get a foothold on the hillsides.  Sometimes, fire set by farmers to prepare their fields for the next crop, spreads to the forests. Before the ban on felling green trees came into force, the timber trade provided a lot of employment to the local people.  Some fires are said to have been set by these frustrated locals. 

Strangely, the land holdings of the hill folks are not measured the way they are measured in the plains.  The forest department goes by the rule that there should be no cultivation or construction within three metres of the forest treeline.  So, trees along the boundary line of their fields are sometimes deliberately destroyed by villagers during forest fires in order to convert more forest land into agricultural land.  In Uttar Pradesh alone, 139 Sq Kms of forests have been converted into agricultural land during the last two years. 

The most dreadful of the stories doing the rounds
is that of uncontrolled burning of trees by the forest
department itself.  This is seen as a bid to cover up
their lapses in afforestation scheme funded by the
World Bank, the European Economic Community
and other national and local bodies.

Felling of green trees was banned in 1991.  But, once there is a forest fire, timber contractors are called in to fell and clear the damaged trees.  They take this opportunity to toss in some green trees along with the damaged ones. 

Chairs secrete a highly inflammable resin which is used in the turpentine industry.  Every summer, the forest department hands out resin-tapping contracts.  The contractors who do not get the contracts are believed to start forest fires to get even with those who get them.

Poachers have a field day during forest fires.  They use forest fires as a camouflage to flush out animals and trap them. 

Resin-tapping contracts are let out on pines with a minimum trunk diameter of 40 inches.  During my visit to Garhawal and Kumaon, I saw resign being tapped from chirs with tender tree trunks.  Also, there are restrictions on the extent of incision on tree trunks to draw resin from pine trees.  But, the resign contractors cut deeper than the permissible limits to extract more resin.  This shows negligence or connivance on the part of the foresters who are supposed to enforce these rules. 

Forest fires serve as a perfect cover-up for all these and for illegal tree felling.   

The forest fires could have been curtailed (if not avoided) if only the forest department had destroyed the pine needles and dead leaves littered on the forest floor before the arrival of summer through controlled burning.  Actually, the forest department is supposed to do this in February every year. 

A better alternative, however, is to put up small units to process pine needles for making cartons, file covers and folders.  This is already being done in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.  Pine needles can also be used as fuel in brick kilns and factories as these are available the plenty.  The point to note is that if the pine needles are disposed of, one way or the other, before, the arrival of summer, the chances of forest fires can be reduced to a great extent. 

Fire fighting operations in Indian forests still employ primitive techniques.  These include stamping out fires with broken branches and throwing water on the fire.  Fire control lines are also created to counter the raging fire.  This is done by clearing about two metres of ground on the fire path and setting fire to another patch of forest towards the approaching fire.  When the two fires meet, they die a natural death as the entire fuel is burnt up between them. 

Modern fire fighting facilities set up at Haldwani under
an UNDP project could not be put to use for a variety
of reasons.  According to the forest department fire extinguishers,
fire tenders and bulldozers are of little use in the hilly terrain. 
And, the helicopter is in operational.  On top of this,
the UP government has discontined the practice of
employing fire watchers for want of funds.

The villagers feel alienated as their traditional forest have been withdrawn.  So, the villagers are no longer too keen to help put out forest fires.  That is the reason why they were simply watching when fires blazed through forests under the forest and revenue departments.  But, when forest lands under “Van Panchayats” caught fire, they came running and put off the fires as they derive benefits from these forests.  This goes to show that the importance of people’s participation in maintaining and protecting our forest wealth cannot be underestimated. 

The way our forests are being managed, it leaves a lot to be desired.  Paucity of funds and lack of equipment, infrastructure and manpower are being used as pleas to hoodwink the accountability of the forest department.  But, if the forest department is really starved of founds, as is being made out, it highlights a short-sighted forest management policy. 

Forest fires in the hills are different from forest fires in the plains.  So, it calls for a specialist approach to fight it.  “If need be’, a special task force must be created to tackle it.  Environmental wisdom dictates that the forest department should be provided with everything that is necessary to fight forest fires effectively.  And, after that, they should be made accountable for their failures. 

I am not an economist.  But, my common sense tells me that it is wiser to shell out a few crores of rupees on effective forest management than to burn up forest wealth worth billions every year.  That a fully grown pine tree is worth between 20,000 and 50,000 rupees and the fact that more than 8,000 Sq Kms of forests were swept by forest fires this year must bring out the economic implication of my statement. 

The government has ordered an enquiry into the recent spate of forest fires.  But, going by past experience, nothing might come out of it. 

It is time we took our forest fires seriously.  It makes sense to investigate the causes and effects of the recent forest fires in detail.  If nothing else, we will at least get enough material to prepare a blue-print for prevention and control of such forest fires in future.  Once such a blue-print is prepared, it must be implemented in letter and spirit.  Otherwise, we will have to depend on the rain gods to put out forest fires year after year.  And, the recurring menace of forest fires will continue unabated.   q

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