The TLDR: A massive forest first is raging through Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh. But it is just the latest in a series of forest fires that have devastated India’s largest and most precious biospheres this year. So who is to blame for this tragic trend? Climate change, yes. But what about the Adivasis—who are often the first to be named as a cause? We look at the big picture and deeper causes for this growing threat to our forests.

A tragic and alarming trend

The Bandhavgarh fire is the fourth major wildfire just this year. It is not an isolated case as the data clearly reveals.

The big numbers: are as follows: 

• The Forest Survey of India shows a rapid increase in the number of fire points—areas vulnerable to fires. In 2004-05, there were 8,654 fire points which increased to 30,892 in 2009-10 and surged to 35,888 in 2017.
• Last year, the government declared that 2,56,710 hectares of our forests were affected by fires in 2019. According to FSI, nearly 4% of the country’s forest cover is extremely prone to fire, and 6% of forest cover is highly prone.
• But the number of forest fire alerts have increased exponentially—by 125%—this year. Between November 2019 and January 2020, 1,321 alerts were raised. This year—in just three months—there have already been 2,984 alerts, sent mostly from Uttarakhand, Odisha and Maharashtra.
• In terms of actual cases of fire, Odisha is #1—followed by Telangana and Jharkhand. 
• Of course, most of these are not catastrophic. But they all indicate increased vulnerability to large-scale wildfires. And they add up. For instance, 6,520 fires were reported in Chhattisgarh in just 37 days.

The big four: Here are the most serious of these forest fires:

Dzukou Valley: Located on the border of Nagaland and Manipur, this fire began on December 29 and raged for two weeks—forcing the state governments to ask for help from the NDRF and the army. By the end, 200 acres were reduced to ashes. This area is home to rare flora and fauna species, like the Dzukou lily, the asian-golden cat, Blythe’s tragopan and endangered animals such as the clouded leopard, Asiatic black bear, capped langur, and stump-tailed macaque.

Kullu: Himachal Pradesh is vulnerable to forest fires during the summer season. But this time, the forests in Kullu caught fire in January—primarily due to unusually dry conditions from August to November. The fire started in the grasslands—where villagers set fire to dry grass.

Similipal National Park: This wildfire in Odisha—in India’s biggest and Asia’s second largest biosphere—was far more serious! It raged for more than a month. Between February 11 and mid-March, more than 3,400 fires were detected across all four divisions of the national park—including about 350 within the tiger reserve. It is home to tigers, leopards, elephants, deer, wild boar, pangolins, antelopes, more than 200 species of birds and about 3,000 species of plants, including rare orchids. The fires affected 25% of all flora and fauna in the preserve.

Bandhavgarh National Park: This latest fire started on March 29 and has spread to six forest ranges. It has the highest density of tigers—at 7-8 per square kilometer—and that makes it a very popular tourist attraction. The extent of damage is still to be assessed as the fire is still raging strong. Here are some visuals: 

And here’s a clip of the actual fire:

So who is to blame?

There are a number of factors—some more key than others. And some are subject to fierce debate. 

Climate change: This is one that everyone can agree on. It is the number one underlying cause for wildfires around the world—be it in the United States, Australia or India. Our seasons are getting hotter and drier, and it makes our forests more vulnerable. Aakash Ranison, an Indian climate change expert lays it out:

“Because of the increased temperature and drier conditions, the fires spread quickly and make them harder to put out. Warmer conditions also contribute to the spread of insects that can weaken or kill trees, building up the fuel in a forest. The fire caused due to climate change further contributes to global warming as large wildfires have the capability of altering the local weather and produce an immense amount of carbon emissions.”

And due to this, traditional agrarian practices—say burning dry grass to clear land in Himachal, for example—can more easily trigger widespread fires. 

Local vegetation: Some trees are more prone to catching fire than others. For example, the eucalyptus and chir pine trees. Also: dwarf bamboo which is implicated in the Dzukou valley fire:

“The dwarf bamboo species called Sinarundinaria rolloana is one of the first plant species that rapidly colonises the burnt areas following a fire. It competes for nutrients and forms dense thickets suppressing the regeneration of any other species. These bamboo shrubs are really dry and prone to fire, thus forming a self-perpetuating fire-dwarf bamboo cycle.”  

Adivasi practices: This is most often cited by forestry officials who specifically point to the harvesting of mahua—a wild flower used for making country liquor. This is cited as the #1 culprit in Jharkhand:

“Mahua, which grows in abundance in the forest areas of Jharkhand, falls off the trees during spring. However, these flowers are often covered by a layer of dry leaves, which make it difficult for villagers to find and collect Mahua. Villagers set forest areas afire to clear the leaves and easily spot mahua flowers, which are unaffected by fire, forest officials said.”

In Similipal too, forest officials and some conservationists pointed to local Adivasis who torch the land to collect mahua and kendu leaves—and start fires to trap and poach animals.

But are the Adivasis really to blame?

The flip side of that debate are so-called conservation policies—which critics allege are rooted in a “colonial” mindset, and hurt rather than help the forests they are supposed to protect. 

One: They point to official data that shows the local flora and fauna are least damaged by fire in locations where adivasis are given Community Forest Resource rights. This is where the local village council has the “right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.” In one part of Maharashtra—where CFR was granted—the number of fires were reduced by 70%.

Two: In the name of preservation, government authorities have outlawed ‘controlled burning’ or ‘good fire’—a traditional practice that actually helps save forests from uncontrolled wildfires. A number of Indian scientists argue that such fires help revive dormant seeds, suppress invasive species and weeds—and eliminate parasites that threaten adult trees. But this view is fiercely contested by wildlife activists and experts.

Three: The relocation of tribals out of forest preserves actually makes them more vulnerable. According to researcher Y Giri Rao, Similipal witnessed more ferocious wildfires for this exact reason:

“The Adivasi communities in fact act as the intelligence for the Forest Department and check the poachers and timber smugglers. They are the first responders to the wildfire. However, after their relocation, the instances of poachers trespassing have increased inside the core area, said Rao, adding that these poachers tend to set fire in the forest for ease of hunting.”

The bottomline: In the end, forests cannot be saved without the protection of those who live within them. Maybe we can take that as a starting point for a truly sustainable policy to preserve them. 

Reading list

Scroll looks at the debate over who should manage the forests. Also illuminating: This Scroll report on the really ugly blame game over forest fires in Kerala in 2019. Leaflet takes aim at the colonial mindset that outlaws controlled fires. The Telegraph explains how mahua collection triggers wildfires. News18 and NDTV have a good overview of the overall trend in wildfires in India. The Guardian has a must read deep dive on the Similipal fires.
 

Paging all present/future founding members

As you may know, splainer’s origin story is rooted in the generosity of 200-odd founding members who donated Rs 2,000-10,000 to help us get started in June, 2020. To this day—as the ranks of our founding members continue to grow 🙏🏽—they help support our growth plans, including the development of an app (yay!). 

Our big question: How do we do more for you, and deepen our relationship with you? To find an answer, we asked you to fill out a survey—and the results are in! 

• At #1: Monthly Zoom Q&As with folks doing/talking about interesting things.
• At #2: Monthly virtual events with a panel of super-smart people discussing a timely and interesting topic. 
• A close #3: An online community—though there is no consensus on a preferred platform.

Also this: We hosted a Zoom hangout with our founding members on March 6—and spent a wonderful hour getting to know each other. It went so well that we want to do this at least once every other month—or more often if you want it. 

The big result: We’re kicking off a series of monthly events for our founding members. And we’re working out the right platform for a community. Also: we have big plans for our first year anniversary coming up on June 1. So stay tuned!!

The big event: <cue drum roll> We are proud to announce the inaugural session of Splainer Ask Me Anything—a lively Q&A format that puts the focus on your questions! We’re gonna do this once a month with amazing, interesting people drawn from a wide range of fields. Translation: It’s not going to be all about news & politics.

Our awesome guest: Manu Chandra, one of India’s absurdly talented and highly successful chef owners. He is the co-founder of a diverse collection of restaurants, from Olive Beach to Monkey Bar, Toast & Tonic and Fatty Bao. He is extremely knowledgeable, witty and thoughtful about food and the business of food—including the risks and opportunities in these pandemic times. Here’s his Insta handle, and an excellent profile in Mint Lounge.

Save the date: Saturday, April 10 at 6 pm.

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