Chhattisgarh’s State Forest Policy specifically recommends the use of Geographic Information System and remote sensing for fire control, a joint report titled 'Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India by Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change and World Bank had stated.
Standing instructions on Forest Fire Prevention and Management have also been issued by States from time to time. Again, the level of detail varies across states. In Chhattisgarh, these include clearing fire lines, carrying out controlled burning, ensuring Non Timber Forest Products collection without using fire, engaging fire watchers or Joint Forest Management Committee members to monitor forest areas adjacent to agricultural land and habitation, using fire watch towers, providing adequate firefighting equipment to field staff, and keeping water tankers ready, it stated.
Tendu leaf collection was the second most important cause of fire named in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana. It is also common in Odisha. Setting fire to stimulate the growth of new grasses and fodder in the forest for livestock was cited as a major cause of fire in Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, and Uttarakhand, the report stated.
In addition to preventive measures such as control burning and clearing fire lines, the Himachal Pradesh Forest Sector Policy (2005) identifies strategies such as engaging fire watchers during the fire season, adopting efficient communication systems and quickly mobilizing adequate human resources with modern firefighting equipment and tools, particularly in fire prone forest divisions and ranges.
Other strategies include developing incentives for Panchayats and communities to involve them in forest fire prevention and control, and providing educational, extension and training programmes to create awareness regarding the causes and ill effects of forest fires.
In Madhya Pradesh, strategies for fire management that have been identified in the State Forest Policy (2005) include developing a “new fire protection system” after a detailed study of the effects of fire on forests in the State (including beneficial and harmful effects), as well as using “modern techniques and equipment” to control forest fires.
This cyclical pattern of burning on small plots of forest is consistent with the practice of shifting cultivation (jhum) that is seen throughout the Northeast. By contrast, fires in other regions, particularly districts in Central and Southern India, are more expansive, it stated.
Districts experiencing widespread and frequent forest fires include areas of dry and moist deciduous forest in the borderlands of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Telangana that are affected by fire on a nearly annual basis .
States that have explicitly incorporated aspects of FFPM into their overall forestry policies include inter alia Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.
Each year, fires affect forests across much of India. According to satellite detections of forest fires by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, from 2003 to 2016, as few as 380 and as many as 445 of the country’s 647 districts experienced fires each year (i.e. at least in 59 percent, but as many as 69 percent of districts).15 Yet, some areas exhibit a much higher incidence of fire than others. Just 20 districts, representing 3 percent of the India’s land area and 16 percent of the country’s forest cover in 2000, accounted for 44 percent of all forest fire detections from 2003 to 2016.
Similarly, the top-20 districts in terms of area affected by fire from 2003 to 2016 account for 48 percent of the total fire affected area,16 despite having just 12 percent of the nation’s forest cover in 2000 and 7 percent of its land area. The top-20 districts in terms of fire frequency are mainly located in the Northeast, while the top-20 districts in terms of burnt area are mainly in Central India, it stated.