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India's Forests Blaze: Urgent Call for Satellite Monitoring
14 Aug
Summary
- Parliament panel urges geostationary satellite for round-the-clock fire monitoring.
- Recommendations include regional NDRF centers for Himalayan fire response.
- Himalayan region, 17% of India's land, sees 57% of forest fire incidents.
A recent parliamentary standing committee report has pinpointed deficiencies in India's forest fire monitoring and management systems. It strongly advocates for the deployment of a geostationary satellite to provide continuous, round-the-clock surveillance, addressing the current limitations of foreign, polar-orbiting satellites.
The committee's findings were detailed in a report on forest fires in the Himalayan Region. It also called for the establishment of at least two regional National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) centers specifically equipped to combat forest fires in the Himalayan belt.
The report highlighted that while the Western and Eastern Himalayas constitute 17 percent of India's geographical area, they are unfortunately the location for 57 percent of the country's forest fire incidents.
India's forests face significant fire risks, with approximately 54.40 percent vulnerable to occasional fires. The fire season typically spans from November to June, with March, April, and May being peak months due to dry biomass. However, recent years have seen an alarming increase in winter fires.
Man-made causes are believed to be primary drivers, including agricultural practices, illegal logging, and poaching. Climate change, with rising temperatures and erratic rainfall, exacerbates these issues, intensifying fire frequency and impact.
Forest fires can have severe ecological and economic consequences, leading to greenhouse gas emissions, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and damage to infrastructure and local economies.
