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India’s Growing Forest Fire Crisis
Context:
Wildfires are increasing globally, with Los Angeles being a recent example. The urgency to address and prevent forest fires is evident as their frequency grows. However, in India, this issue is equally critical but often overlooked until a major disaster occurs.
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- 36% of India’s forest cover is prone to fires (Forest Survey of India).
- 10-fold increase in forest fires in the last two decades (Council on Energy, Environment, and Water).
- Total forest cover has increased by only 1.12% in the same period.
Wildfires, also known as forest fires, bushfires, or vegetation fires, are uncontrolled blazes that occur in forests, grasslands, savannahs, or other natural landscapes. These fires can spread rapidly, fueled by dry vegetation, high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds. Wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems, helping to clear dead vegetation, promote new growth, and maintain biodiversity. However, in recent decades, they have become more frequent and intense due to human activity and climate change.
Impact of Forest Fires in India
- Forests are vital not just for wildlife conservation and biodiversity but also as lifelines for local communities.
- States Most Affected by Forest Fires: Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh frequently make headlines for wildfires. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Karnataka are also grappling with increasing fire frequency.
- Human and Climate-Driven Causes: 90% of fires are caused by human activity – land clearing, slash-and-burn agriculture, and unattended campfires. Rising temperatures and extended dry spells, fueled by climate change, worsen fire intensity.
Devastating Consequences
- Environmental: Loss of trees, wildlife, and biodiversity.
- Climate Impact: India’s forest fires emit 69 million tonnes of CO₂ annually (World Resources Institute).
- Economic Losses: ₹1.74 lakh crore annually due to forest degradation (Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, 2018).
- Livelihood Impact: Forest-dependent communities suffer due to loss of timber and non-timber products.
- Water Crisis: Fires disrupt the water cycle and degrade soil fertility.
- Human-Wildlife Conflict: Displaced animals enter human settlements, increasing risks.
Current Forest Fire Management in India
- India has policies like the National Action Plan on Forest Fires and the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme (FFPMS), which provides funding to state governments for prevention and management.
- However, the funding for FFPMS has been inconsistent: ₹46.40 crore (2019-2020), ₹32.47 crore (2020-2021), ₹34.26 crore (2021-2022), ₹28.25 crore (2022-2023), ₹40 crore (2023-2024, revised), and ₹50 crore (2024-2025).
Challenges
- Technological Shortcomings: The Forest Fire Alert System lacks precision, often misidentifying fires and delaying responses.
- Limited use of advanced predictive modelling to identify high-risk areas.
- Insufficient deployment of drones and thermal imaging cameras for monitoring and response.
- Weak Community Involvement: Local communities lack tools to report fires in real-time. Successful local programs (e.g., women’s self-help groups collecting pine needles in Uttarakhand & Himachal Pradesh) are not scaled nationally.
Solutions for a Stronger Forest Fire Response
- Enhanced Technology & Predictive Tools: Deploy AI-based fire risk mapping & predictive modeling (leveraging data from the Forest Survey of India, IMD, and ISRO).
- Use drones with thermal imaging to monitor fire-prone areas and assess damage.
- Scale-up pilot programs from Tamil Nadu & Odisha, which have tested such technologies
- Community-Centric Approaches: Expand local reporting systems via mobile apps, toll-free helplines, and SMS alerts.
- Example: In Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, self-help groups (primarily women) collect pine needles to prevent future fires.
- Adopt successful global models such as Nepal’s Community Forest User Groups and Indonesia’s Fire-Free Village Program.
- Train youth as ‘forest fire scouts’ to combine traditional knowledge with modern tools.
- Policy & Budgetary Strengthening: Ensure steady funding for FFPMS, preventing year-to-year fluctuations. Integrate forest fire mitigation into broader climate and disaster preparedness policies.
