Forest Fire Menace

As the dry season approaches, Nepal faces an unusual environmental crisis, with forest fires emerging as the biggest menace.  Dry weather, coupled with human negligence, causes hundreds of forest fire incidents across the country every year, resulting in the loss of lives and property. These fires are also major sources of air pollution.  Despite many institutional initiatives, forest fires continue to increase, threatening biodiversity and human settlements. Climate change has further exacerbated the situation. Experts warn that cases of forest fires may grow fivefold in the coming days due to rising temperatures and lack of rainfall. This demands doubling down on efforts by the government, community, and other stakeholders.

There are natural and human factors behind the surging cases of forest fires, most of them occurring from mid-March to mid-May. Dry biomass piles up in forests and instantly turns into fuel for fires when winter is drier. Biomass plays a role in increasing soil fertility and supporting livestock. However, farmers have stopped cultivating upland areas and rearing livestock, allowing organic matter to accumulate and become a source of fire. Nature runs on its own course, but human folly messes up things. In the absence of proper awareness of the fatal consequences, locals often discard cigarette butts near dry woodlands. In some cases, they burn agricultural residues without looking at the surrounding land and unwittingly spread fire into the forest. During dry season, forests are deliberately set to fire to clear land for agriculture and help new grass grow for livestock. 

Human activities are blamed for about 96 per cent of forest fires. Of them, 64 per cent are intentional, while 32 per cent occur due to negligence. Specific causes include grazing activities (30 per cent), discarded cigarette butts (15 per cent) and hunting (7 per cent), according to a news report published in this daily. At least 110 people lost their lives to forest fires in the last five years. Around 593 people died in 19,593 fire-related incidents over the past six years. During the same period, 33,168 families were affected by fires and forest fires. This has resulted in economic losses totaling Rs 26.71 billion. Bearing in mind the rising deaths and financial losses, successive governments have prioritised preventive measures to curb this scourge. The government has been organising Forest Fire Awareness Week every year from March 15 to March 21. The central, federal, and local governments, along with other organisations, work to inform people about the risks of forest fires and the measures to contain them and protect nearby settlements during a fire. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) under the Ministry of Home Affairs has devised the National Action Plan for Forest Fire Prevention, Preparedness and Response, 2026 to minimise forest fire risks and reduce damage to lives, property and the ecosystem.

Altogether, nine districts have been identified as high-risk and medium-risk areas for forest fires over the past 12 years.  Surkhet, Bardiya, Chitwan, Dang, Banke, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Parsa and Salyan fall into high-risk places. The concerned authorities have begun creating fire lines in those risky places to prevent forest fires. Experiences have shown that fire lines have greatly helped control the spread of fire into the nearby villages. Nepal has a higher number of community forests than national forests, which has also increased the fire risks. Greater public awareness is crucial in curbing the menace of forest fires.