Forest fire is very common in Odisha. Even in the 21st Century, when all kinds of modern technologies are available for extinguishing the wild fire, it is a matter of great concern.
The State has 58, 137 sqkm of recorded forests areas, which comes to 37.34 per cent of the land mass. The State has tropical and sub-tropical evergreen, deciduous, semi-evergreen and open-bushy forests including mangrove forests. Particularly, the tropical and sub-tropical deciduous and semi evergreen forests are very susceptible to wildfire.
During post independence period, there was not enough money for taking up fire fighting measures to control forest fire, but the villagers of forest blocks were associating the forest staff to extinguish the fire because they know that the forest resources support their livelihood and saving of forests from fire damage means protecting their own livelihood.
It was an unconventional “Ama Jangala Yojana” of the past. During Darbar Administration, before independence, the villagers of every forest blocks either revenue or non-revenue villages were voluntarily cooperating to fight forest fire and informing the forest staff for early remedial measures. Such types of co-operations of forest villagers and the villagers residing within the forest limits are a passé now.
The fire season starts from February to June every year, and the forest fire occurs in the forest twice to thrice during this period. February to June is a dry period and forest debris fills the forest floor due to deciduous nature of forest growth, which is very susceptible to fire. The forest fire in this season occurs for various reasons which are mostly deliberate. The fire arises mostly for collection of minor forest produces and for local tending cattle in the local forests of surrounding villages. During this period the different types of forest produces are ripe and become ready for collection by the forest dwellers. To make the ground floor clean, usually the forest dwellers burn the forest for better procurement of fallen fruits and floors. Generally the Mahua flowers, which are a great source of economy of these people, including Sal and char seeds, tempt the local people for better procurement. Another reason is collection of Kendu leaves which are obtained from new flush of leaves and have better market demand for manufacture of Beedi. Kendu produces better types of wrappers for rolling cigars with wide market demand of the addicted. Again the people collect the burnt ashes from forest floor to use the same in their agricultural field to enhance the productivities crop field. Mostly in black cotton soil and sticky soils, the ash is used for reducing the stickiness of the soil and developing the porosity. The tribals and other forest dwellers carry ant shifting cultivations for their livelihood in the forest land. They usually set fire to the forest floors to make the land ready for better cropping on the onset of monsoon. This is the period when the land is made ready for raising various types of upland and hilly crops.
The forest fire is usually related with the economy of forest dwellers. In Kandhamal the profuse cultivation of turmeric and ginger, which have underground stems, is only possible through rampant shifting-cultivation. There are various local names of shifting cultivation such cultivation carried out in a cyclic manner in forest floor. Such cultivable forest floors are not cultivated every successive year, because the productivities of the land drop very fast, so the rest to the land is needed most for cultivation. No doubt shifting cultivation within forest land is an economic offence, but such trend cannot be controlled, unless the backwardness and endemic poverty of the tribals s are solved. Such practices are going on throughout the State, but to a greater extent such practices are reduced in Forest Divisions, where mining of minerals are going on and the forest dwellers are getting regular wages in turn of their labours. Such Divisions are Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Bonai, Dhenkanal, Angul, Jajpur, Koraput and Jharsuguda. It is amply proved that, economic pressure drives the villagers to commit destructive practices.
As present the general temperature of the atmosphere throughout the State is rising very fast due to climatic hazard. Such hazardous situation is further aggravated due to loss of ecological cover. Once the Western-South- Western and North- Western Odisha were very cooler regions as compared to coastal regions of the State. The annual rainfall of the state on an average was1,000 to 2,200 mm. Such rainfall index was mostly influenced by the biospheric activities of the crop composition particularly of western Odisha. Due to loss of forest cover, the ground is very much opened to sun-rays, which increases the radiation effects and heat up the atmosphere that comes in contact with heated geography of the region. Such kinds of situation are now prevailing everywhere in the State. The general temperature of coastal as well as western regions has gone up to 43 degree and above at the beginning of April, which makes matter worse. The situation is further aggravated due to forest fire. Now, entire western and southern Odisha are burning due to forest fire. The atmospheric temperature is further aggravated and becomes unbearable due to the lingering forest fire. If no efficient management and control of forest fire is done by the State Forest, Environment and Climate Management Department, it could trigger great ecological crisis in the State.
The 7th April is the World Health Day, and we observe it only on paper but not in reality. The example is forest fire. The forest fire brings health hazard for forest dwellers and for wild lives and eco-systems in the given regions. lots of carbon dioxides are released through forest fire to which the Forest and Environment Department casts a blind eye. When the department has been carrying out massive plantation programme, it is also duty-bound to take steps for carbon elimination and saving the sanctity of air.
Due to forest fire, ground flora and fauna are turned into ashes. The whole eco systems are damaged and the top soil of the forest floors are burnt thoroughly while the capillary activities of soil are destroyed fully which restrains the rain water to recharge the sub-soil water table. Because of this the sub-soil water table of western Odisha and other places including Bhubaneswar is dropping very fast and will shrink further. No artificial water harvesting and water conservation measures will work fruitfully and successfully. Now lots of expenditures are made through different organsations for rain shed and water shed management in different catchment areas including soil conservation and moisture conservation measures. But the most important tasks like moisture conservation through ecological process and restoration of natural eco-systems are forgotten. So long as the moisture conservation measures are not done successfully and adequately, the atmospheric temperature will rise and rise further. The moisture conservation measure means the retention of adequate amount of moisture in the local atmosphere and in the soil up to the saturation point to reduce the atmospheric heat. Unless the local people cooperate heartily to join hands for improvement of regional climate no improvement of regional climate can be expected. The forest department should associate the local people in this process and improve the system.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)