More than 13,000 forest fires reported in 13 years

Kathmandu. Forest Fire Week is underway across the country from March 1 to 7. Meanwhile, the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation has made public a report on forest fires. The report states that the risk of bushfires is increasing in the country as per satellite data of the last 13 years.

According to the Department, a total of 13,622 incidents of forest fire have been recorded from 2070 BS to 2082 BS in the country. Forest fires have emerged as a serious environmental challenge. According to the report, forest fires in Nepal are seasonal in nature. Of the total forest fires, 89 percent occurred between mid-March and mid-April. The risk of forest fire is high due to prolonged drought, low humidity, high temperature, intensity of wind, burning of agricultural residues and increase in human activities in the forest area.

Forest fires accounted for 57.7 per cent of the total incidents in the month of April. The year 2073 BS has been shown as the year of the worst forest fire. A significant number of fire incidents have been recorded in 2078 and 2081 BS.

According to the Department’s analytical report, at least 282 incidents of forest fire have been recorded in the country from April 14, 2002 to March 15. According to the report, although forest fire spread in all seven provinces of the country from May 1 to March 14, the Sudurpaschim Province was the most affected state. Forest fires accounted for 33.3 per cent of the total incidents in the country. Bagmati Province has reported 19.1 per cent forest fire incidents followed by 16.7 per cent in Karnali Province, 9.6 per cent in Gandaki Province, 8.9 per cent in Lumbini Province, 8.2 per cent in Koshi Province and 4.3 per cent in Madhesh Province.

During the same period, Kanchanpur has become the most affected district. A total of 41 fires have been reported in the state. Of them, 27 were reported in Chitwan, 19 in Kailali and 18 in Surkhet. Director General of the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation Dhirendra Kumar Pradhan stressed the need of coordination among the federal, provincial and local level bodies, community forest users groups, security bodies, private sector, media and local communities to control the growing risk of bushfires.

“Forest fire management is not the responsibility of any single agency but it is the common responsibility of the entire society,” he said. Director General Pradhan stressed on the need of active participation of all sides in prevention of wildfire, early information sharing, timely control and public awareness raising.

Threats to biodiversity

The incidents of wildfires have been increasing in various protected areas of the country in recent times. According to the Department’s report, a total of 82 incidents of fire have been recorded in the protected area from April 1 to March 14. The highest number of fire incidents have been reported in Chitwan National Park (CNP). There were 27 fires in the country. After this, 24 incidents of fire were reported in Shuklaphanta National Park and 12 in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. Similarly, 6 bushfires were reported in Bardiya National Park, 5 in Annapurna Conservation Area, 3 in Banke National Park, 3 in Manaslu Conservation Area and 2 in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve. Wildfires reaching protected areas are considered serious from the point of view of biodiversity conservation. It has a direct impact on wildlife habitats, vegetation and the overall ecosystem.

Wildlife Fund Nepal representative Dr Ghanashyam Gurung said the incidents of wildfire that have been seen recently in the forest areas surrounding protected areas could have serious impact on wildlife and natural resources. He stressed the need to control it on time.

“Measures to minimise human casualties during forest fires should be prioritized. Similarly, there is a need to raise public awareness to control wildfires, expand fire lines in forest areas and increase training and preparedness at the local level,” Gurung said, adding that it is very important to make the community aware through effective publicity and to protect water sources. ”

He stressed the need for timely coordination and effective management by the bodies concerned as wildfires in protected areas may have long-term impact on wildlife habitat, biodiversity and ecosystem.

According to the Department, 36 incidents of bushfires were recorded in the month of Poush, 35 in January and 50 in the month of Falgun this year. According to the report, more than 90 percent of forest fire incidents were concentrated in April, December, January and March.

Tarai-Chure and mid-hill areas at high risk

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Locally analysis has shown the Tarai-Chure region and mid-hill forest areas most vulnerable to forest fire. The wildfires were mostly concentrated in the Tarai-Chure area of Sudurpaschim, Chitwan-Makawanpur, forests around Surkhet and Bardiya-Banke Tarai areas. Member of President Chure Tarai-Madhes Conservation Development Committee, Kamala Oli Shiwakoti attributed the accumulation of dry fuel, prolonged dry period, low humidity and increase in human activities to the increasing forest fires in the Chure region.

“We are conducting training programmes in coordination with stakeholders and relevant units to understand and implement fire prevention measures at the community level,” he said. He, however, pointed out that lack of budget was the main challenge to implement effective fire control programme in the Chure.

Preparedness and the role of the community needed

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As most of the forest area in Nepal is under community management, the role of local community and forest user groups is considered important to control forest fires. Thakur Prasad Bhandari, president of the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN), stressed the need of preparedness and wider awareness to control wildfires. According to him, fire control would not be effective without fuel management, early warning system and active participation of the community.

He said that with the onset of the summer season, preparations and information dissemination campaigns have been conducted at the community level keeping in mind the risk of possible fires. “A campaign has been launched to give early warning and warning of possible fires,” Bhandari said.

He pointed out the possibility of dangerous accidents in course of controlling fire, lack of adequate public awareness and lack of required equipment in course of controlling fire.

President of Nepal Forest Technical Association (NFA), Rakesh Karna, stressed the need of effective forest management to control forest fire. According to him, the incidents of fire are less in the areas where forest management is done, but the problem is getting complicated in the areas where there is no management.

“Forest management reduces wildfires, improves conservation and increases employment and income opportunities at the local level,” he said, adding that forest management is still not a priority for the state. ”