Wiping out the green Premium

Kerala is in the throes of yet another ‘fire season’ that has seen large tracts of forests go up in flames

Kerala is in the throes of yet another ‘fire season’ that has seen large tracts of forests go up in flames. Unscientific human activity, coupled with soaring mercury levels, has resulted in wildfire incidents surging to pre-pandemic levels in the State.

The short-staffed Forest department has been scrambling to snuff out fires in various forest reserves since January. With anthropogenic reasons suspected to trigger most such incidents, the forest force has persisted with a mitigation strategy that involves containing their spread within a specific area.

According to official statistics compiled until March 18, fires have raged across 778 hectares of forestland in the State this year. The Central Circle covering Thrissur and Ernakulam districts, and the Eastern Circle covering Palakkad and Malappuram districts have been the most affected regions thus far.

While the monsoon is over two months away, the damage has already surpassed that reported in the last three years. The sharp dip in fire incidents from 2020-22 was attributed to minimal human interference during the COVID-19-induced lockdowns enforced in the State. The period was then dubbed a blessing in disguise for the flora and fauna in forestland.

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Rajesh Ravindran, who has been coordinating disaster mitigation efforts, points out that almost all forest fire incidents are man-made. While accidental fires due to negligence plays a major role in forest fires, there are reasons to suspect mischief in some cases. Investigation is under way in 105 cases with many more likely to be registered.

In addition to the carelessly discarded butts of cigarettes and beedis, some of the other “unintentional causes” that trigger wildfires include controlled burning (or prescribed burning) practised by the Forest department as well as farming communities on the forest fringes to reduce fuel load (inflammable dry leaves and undergrowth). While these are done with the prime goal of minimising the spread of wildfires, they often turn into uncontrollable disasters that ravage large forest areas. Poachers are also known to start fires to hunt down wild animals.

Fire is also used as a tool to prepare sites for planting forest species, control competing vegetation and pests, improve habitat quality for wildlife, and preserve plant species that are dependent on fire to survive. Farmers rely on the practice to reduce soil acidity and boost soil fertility.