Strengthening Forest Fire Management will help India meet its Long-Term Climate Change Goal

 

Strengthening Forest Fire Management will help India meet its Long-Term Climate Change Goal


Strengthening Forest Fire Management in the Country,
Strongly emphasizing that more and more people will have to be involved to make managing of forest fires into a mass movement, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan has said that forest fire management is part of our long-term vision for Sustainable Forest Management. Speaking at the release of a report titled “Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India”, here today, Dr. Harsh Vardhan affirmed that the recommendations suggested in the report must be implemented effectively.  He added that once the recommendations are implemented, there should be a significant reduction in the incidence of forest fires.  The Minister also suggested that the Ministry of Science & Technology also be involved on the issue of fighting forest fires.

 
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also pointed out that various recommendations in the study report will be worth, only if they are followed up by a proactive and aggressive strategy.  The Minister stressed that forest fire is one of the causes of emission of carbon dioxide that leads to global warming.  “Hence, the report is a timely action guided by the vision of the Prime Minister, Mr.Narendra Modi to meet India’s climate goals defined under the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) set under the Paris Agreement”, the Minister said.  He advocated the institution of recognition or awards to infuse a healthy competition among state forest departments.  ‘It is for the first time in the history of the country that such a step has been taken under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi”, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said.
Speaking on the occasion, Country Director for India (World Bank) Dr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad said that forest fires are a challenge across many countries and lead to the loss of lives and livelihoods for people directly dependent on forest produce.
A presentation made during the meeting emphasised that forest fires have distinct regional patterns, with 20 districts (not the same ones) account for 47% of fire distribution.  The presentation also pointed out that forest fires are caused by a combination of natural and social factors.  The report discusses policies on forest fire prevention and management and underscores the need to put more emphasis on better fire prevention practices and a well-equipped and trained workforce to fight fires.   The report adds that there is an urgent need to fill vacancies for field staff, particularly in fire-prone areas, and to make adequate and reliable funding available, the report adds.  The report has been prepared jointly by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and World Bank.
 
Some of the recommendations include – developing a National Forest Fire Prevention Management Plan as an open, consultative and a time-bound process, institute standard management practices, adapt technology to local conditions, as well as scale up the best practices and increase engagement with local communities to ensure that big fire is used in a responsible way and at the same time, give communities a greater say in decision-making process.
The Report suggests that the National FFPM Action Plan should delineate the roles and responsibilities of the MoEFCC, state forest departments, communities and disaster agencies.   Lastly, there is a need to support forest fire management through improved data, and research to fill critical knowledge gaps. A national forest fire information database, bringing together satellite-based remote sensing data, and field-reported data, will be instrumental for assessing longer-term trends across states and regions and for planning fire prevention and response.  In addition, defining a national research agenda for fire management and provision of funding opportunities for scientific research would help to establish formal cooperation between members of the research community and the forest department.
 
An international workshop was also organized in November, 2017 with an aim to learn the experience in other countries that could be applied to improve policies and practices for effective management of forest fires in India.

वन अग्नि प्रबंधन को मजबूत बनाने से दीर्घकालिक जलवायु परिवर्तन लक्ष्‍य प्राप्ति में मदद मिलेगी: रिपोर्ट

डॉ. हर्षवर्धन ने वन अग्नि प्रबंधन को मजबूत बनाने पर रिपोर्ट जारी की

केंद्रीय पर्यावरण, वन एवं जलवायु परिवर्तन मंत्री डॉ. हर्षवर्धन ने वन अग्नि प्रबंधन को जनआंदोलन बनाने में लोगों की भागीदारी पर बल देते हुए कहा है कि वन, अग्नि प्रबंधन  सतत वन प्रबंधन के लिए दीर्घकालिक विजन का अंग है। डॉ. हर्षवर्धन आज नई दिल्‍ली में भारत में वन अग्नि प्रबंधन को मजबूत बनाने के विषय पर एक रिपोर्ट जारी कर रहे थे। उन्‍होंने कहा कि रिपोर्ट में सुझाई गई सिफारिशों को कार‍गर ढंग से लागू किया जाना चाहिए। उन्‍होंने कहा कि सिफारिशों को लागू होने पर वनों में आग लगने की घटनाओं में कमी आएगी। पर्यावरण मंत्री ने सुझाव दिया कि वनों में आग की घटनाओं पर काबू पाने में विज्ञान और प्रद्योगिकी मंत्रालय को भी शामिल करनी चाहिए।
डॉ. हर्षवर्धन ने कहा कि अध्‍ययन रिपोर्ट की सिफारिशों का मूल्‍य तभी रहेगा जब आगे सक्रिय और आक्रामक रणनीति अपनाई जाए। उन्‍होंने कहा कि वनों में आग लगने से कार्बन डाइआक्‍साइड का उत्‍सर्जन होता है और परिणामस्वरूप भूमंडलीय ताप में वृद्धि होती है।  उन्होंने कहा कि यह रिपोर्ट समय पर आई है तथा पेरिस समझौता के अंतर्गत निर्धारित राष्ट्रीय निर्धारित योगदान(एनडी,) के अंतर्गत परिभाषित भारत के लक्ष्यों को पूरा करने के प्रधानमंत्री के विजन से निर्देशित है। उन्‍होंने कहा कि भारत  के इतिहास में यह पहला अवसर है जब प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्‍द्र मोदी के दूरदर्शी नेतृत्‍व में ऐसा कदम उठाया गया है।
इस अवसर पर भारत के लिए कंट्री डाइरेक्‍टर (विश्‍व बैंक) डॉ. जुनैद कमाल अहमद ने कहा कि दावानल अनेक देशों के लिए चुनौती है और प्रत्‍यक्ष रूप से वन उत्‍पादों पर निर्भर लोगों के जान-माल को नुकसान होता है।
 

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