Green Gold on Fire: CMS VATAVARAN 2019 Nomination Series

This year California witnessed one of the worst forest fires in the country which turned 10 lakh acres of cultivable land to unproductive.

Several people and business organizations had to leave and flee the place to save their life and assets.

India is no different when we speak about forest fires. India has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of forest fires.

Forest fires in India in the past has caused a large amount of destruction leading to loss of life and cultivable land.

The issue of forest fires demands attention and government must take some steps to ensure that fires can be contained before large-scale damage occurs.

Amongst the Himlayan States of India, Jammu and Kashmir is perhaps the only state where forest fires are reported almost every season.

As per Indian state of forest report 2017, India saw a 46 percent increase in the number of forest fires in the last 16 years.

In 2016, as many as 71 forest fires were witnessed in Kashmir, with areas like north and south Kashmir reporting such incidents frequently.

In 2015 Kashmir witnessed 49 fire incidents in forests, with north Kashmir reporting 24 of them. Clearly, Kashmir is losing its forests.

It was Sufi Saint, Sheikh-ul-Alam, who sadi, ‘Ann Posh Tele Yele Wanposh’, which means food is subservient to forests.”

These fires not only affect the flora and fauna of the region but they also pollute the environment and impact climate change by increasing greenhouse gases.

Experts opine that in the last ten years alone, forest fires have negatively impacted the Jammu and Kashmir region and have affected the ecosystem to such an extent that the drinking water crisis has aggravated in many parts.

And that is just one part of the story.

It has also affected regeneration, soil fertility, and productive capacity of forests, non-timber forest products and other ecosystem services.

An official report of the forest department reveals the natural causes of forest fires are reported to be less than 5% of the total number of fires caused in a year while 95 percent are manmade that could be prevented by preventive measures by the government and the people alike.

The forests in Kashmir region mostly fall in dry temperate class. These forests are predominantly having conifers comprising of Deodar, Kail and Fir.

These forests are not normally vulnerable to forest fires as they are predominately having evergreen species and lush green ground cover.

Efforts are now underway to document the impacts of forest fire on the community life and the environment.

One of these efforts are films that are being produced to make people aware about this issue.

Director: Er. Abdul Rashid Bhat

Photograph Courtesy-

Er. Abdul Rashid Bhat

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