Prepare To Fight Forest Fires

In Nepal, forest fires take a toll on the lives of people and endangered species of wildlife and plants every year. They also cause devastations to human settlements located close to national parks, community forests and other protected areas. Such damaging fires mostly occur in times of long spell of droughts and windy weathers, putting numerous settlements at a higher risk of being blazed. With temperatures across the country now rising gradually, more incidents of forest fire have taken place in different parts in recent times, killing several people and causing damage to houses and other properties. The period between March and April is considered as the peak season for fire incidents. 

Over the past one week, six persons have lost their lives in two separate forest fires in Dolpa district alone. Media reports have it that three children aged between 10 and 13 years have lately died in a fire that spread in a community forest situated in Tripurasundari Municipality of the district. Two of them died while undergoing treatment in the Nepal Cleft and Burn Centre in Kirtipur while the next child breathed his last in a Dolpa hospital. The ill-fated kids had gone to the forest to collect wild mushroom. They became the victims after the fast-moving inferno engulfed them. This incident has left the entire village mourning. 

Misfortune

Just two days before this sad incident, three Nepali Army personnel died in course of putting out a fire that had broken out in another community forest of the same district. They had been assigned to douse the fire. The misfortune happened when the security personnel were attempting to fight fire without using any modern technique. They were also not trained well in combating fire. This incident really points out the need for the concerned authorities to have necessary facilities in place to contain forest fires. 

Only trained human resources with effective fire-fighting tools should be mobilised to bring fire incidents under control. Raising public awareness about preventing and extinguishing a fire is equally essential. When people are well-aware about this form of disaster, they can contribute significantly to preventing any fire incident thereby saving lives and properties.  

It needs no reiteration that forest fires may have an adverse impact on the lives of people and the environment. However, conservationists say that controlled forest fires can be useful environmentally because such fires help rid forests of dead plants and debris. Thus, controlled forest fires not only contribute towards preventing possible devastating wildfires but also help provide the space and nutrients for new plants to grow. But forest fires are considered harmful for local livelihoods as they cause damage to properties and other infrastructures like electricity and telephone lines and deprive the locals of important forest resources. 

In 2023, more than 8,000 incidents of forest fires were recorded nationwide. However, the nation witnessed just 1500 incidents of forest fires in 2022. Records of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority of Nepal (NDRRMA) show that the number of such incidents stood at over 6,270 in 2021. Officials at NDRRMA say that increasing temperature due to climate change is one of the main reasons for the rising number of incidents related to forest fires. When there are more dry twigs and leaves in jungles, they lead to additional incidents of forest fires. This is because the dry branches and leaves act as fuel for forest fires. 

It is remarkable that the country’s forest cover has increased significantly from 26 per cent to nearly 45 per cent over the past 25 years. The success in the development of community forestry is main factor behind such a rapid expansion of forest cover. The country is now home to more than 22,000 community forests. The community forestry programme inspires communities to grow, manage and harvest their own forest resources. But the forest fires seem to have kept on posing threat to sustained forest recovery and conservation efforts. 

Forest fires have not only hit many people hard directly but also become a major cause of air pollution. Urban areas like the Kathmandu Valley have seen a dramatic increase in the level of air pollution, causing damage to the health of people. It is quite worrying that Katmandu often gets ranked as the world’s most polluted city when it comes to air quality. Forest fires occurred in different parts of the country cause an increase in the level of air pollution in main cities such as Kathmandu. The bowl-shaped Kathmandu Valley time and again earns notoriety because of incidents of forest fire. 

Rising air pollution

The valley became the most polluted city globally last week alone, raising serious public health concerns. Vehicular emissions and dust pollution are also responsible for this. The Tribhuvan International Airport located in Kathmandu is the key entrance for tourists into the country. Despite being unplanned, the valley also boasts several cultural heritage sites, housing centuries-old monuments and the unique culture of people. But if Kathmandu continues to be ranked as the most polluted city, it may lose its charm as an alluring tourist destination. No one wants to risk travelling to unhealthy places.

The statistics maintained by the NDRRMA indicate that nearly 800 people lost their lives to forest fires while about 2,600 others were injured in 18,791 wildfires across the country from 2013 to 2023. The fire disasters are estimated to have caused a financial loss worth over Rs. 22 billion. Considering the devastating effects of forest fires on the lives of people, all the three-tier governments must come up with more practicable policies and plans to combat such disasters in a more effective manner. 

(The author is a deputy executive editor of this daily.)