Forest fires on a five-year high

The number of forest fires recorded in Kerala during 2008-09 was the
highest in five years. Official data also indicate that the burnt area
was one of the highest in two decades.The damage was extensive in the
grasslands of the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve,
Attappady and the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Besides the summer heat,
one of the major factors that contributed to the fires was the
increasing human incursion into forests.The largest number of fires in
recent years had occurred in 2003-04 when 15,581 hectares of forests
burnt up in 949 fires. The official data for 2008-09 list 920 fires
which burnt 5,457 hectares. Though the number of fires came down after
the summer rain in April 2009, some fires occurred in the Periyar
Wildlife Sanctuary and other places during April-May. Most of the
grasslands in the sanctuary had been burnt.Official figures had never
touched the 4,000-hectare mark in the 1990s (the average area burnt
was only about 1,600 hectare a year). Apart from degradation of some
of the forest areas, a major development after the turn of the century
was the promotion of ecotourism in a big way. This led to the entry of
a large number of people into forest areas. Many of the fires this
year were caused by tourists. This was evident from the fact that the
incidence of fires came down in the Muthanga area of Wayanad after
entry of tourists was banned. Promotion of ecotourism has probably
gone beyond the carrying-capacity of the locations in places such as
Thekkady and Muthanga.As cheap manpower is available for appointment
as fire watchmen, it is not an uphill task to check fires in Kerala's
forests. This year, the responsibility had been placed partly on the
eco-development committees. However, that did not help much. In some
cases, members of the committees themselves were instrumental in
causing fires. A number of fires were never reported.The official
estimates of damage from fires in monetary terms do not show the real
value of forests. The losses from fires in 2008-09 are estimated to be
of only Rs.1.58 lakh against Rs.5.55 lakh in the previous year (burnt
area: 2,381 hectares). This is based on loss of assets such as timber.
Though the National Forest Commission had stressed the loss of
biodiversity as a result of fires, this or the environmental value of
forests are not being factored into the calculations. The forest
officials usually claim that no animals have been killed in fires.
This claim does not take into account smaller fauna which cannot move
away from fires. Hundreds of smaller species are destroyed. It also
affects the water- retention capacity of the soil. Repeated fires in
large areas lead to serious degradation of the forests.

The Hindu, 25th May 2009