Wiping out the green
The HinduKerala is in the throes of yet another ‘fire season’ that has seen large tracts of forests go up in flames. 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. In addition to the carelessly discarded butts of cigarettes and beedis, some of the other “unintentional causes” that trigger wildfires include controlled burning practised by the Forest department as well as farming communities on the forest fringes to reduce fuel load.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. 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. The Forest Survey of India and the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority recently reviewed the prevailing scenario and took stock of the State’s fire preparedness.
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