WRITE AN ESSAY ON FOREST FIRE
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Answer:
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Explanation:
In India, about 55 per cent of the forest area, which is predominantly covered by deciduous forests, is prone to fires every year causing loss of about Rs. 440 crores (approximately 104 million dollars). It is estimated that proportion of forest areas, prone to forest fires annually ranges from 33 per cent in some of the states to over 90 per cent in other (FSI 1987). Despite the natural fires, the major sources of forest fires in India are anthropogenic, which include shifting cultivation practices, controlled burning, deforestation, fire wood burning and others.
Besides conventional methods of fire control systems like fire line, fire watch tower, block lines and other manual fire control systems, application of remote sensing with GIS is also used to address the problem with good scientific and technical strength in a time effective and cost effective way.
Forest fires in the country area mostly experienced during summer months from April to June. The extent and type of fire varies from state to state based on type of forest as well as climatic conditions like prolonged spell of dry conditions or delay in arrival of monsoon, etc. Forest fires not only causes loss of biodiversity, loss of valuable timber, degradation of natural forests and water catchment areas but also result in depletion of carbon sinks, reduction in water table level, global warming, ozone layer depletion and also loss of agricultural production.
Answer:
Explanation:
In the 21st century, influences of forest fires from demographic rapid changes, increase in human activities and unpredictable change in climate have become a crucial environmental problem in the ecosystems of the Southeast Asia region. It has unfavorably affected the natural environment and has put to risk the sustainable development as well as the management of resources (ADB, 2001). Indeed, haze pollution has been seriously affecting Indonesia and its neighboring countries due to the extensive burning of forests that arises in almost every year in Indonesia during the last 25 years. In 1997-1998, the global community raised its awareness on the critical conditions of constant haze and burning of forests. The occurrence of forest fires continued over long periods of time since the year 1998. The worst circumstances happened during 2001 and 2002 where the forest reserves and plantation areas of Riau province, West and Central Kalimantan and Sumatra burned. These corresponding areas were also affected by forest fires in 2003. The widespread forest fires happened in Sumatra and Kalimantan during March-July 2004 led to the increase of air pollution in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and especially in Indonesia.
To determine the extent of burning is by knowing the extent of deforestation in Indonesia given that it is greatly caused by fire and not the destruction through spraying of chemicals. Estimates on the loss of forests have been compiled since 1985 and is evident in the report of World Bank in 2001. According to the reports, beginning at 1985 to 1997, the range of forest cover has been reduced from 119 million hectares to approximately 100 million hectares. The forest fires happened in 1997 to 1998 desolated 1.7 million hectares in Sumatra, 6.5 million hectares in Kalimantan, 1.0 million hectares in Irian Jaya and 0.4 million hectares in Sulewesi, and brought about air pollution in Indonesia and its neighboring countries. From the given information on the annual loss of forests during 1985 to 1997, it is expected that the forest lands in Indonesia is now just over 90 million hectares from 1.7 million hectares.
Causes of forest burning
The sources of forest burning in Indonesia are divided into three groups: traditional cultivators, small scale investors, and large scale investors.The most long-lived source of forest burning is the subsistence and semi-subsistence traditional cultivators. Some of these are the inactive farmers who burn their small lands after harvest in order to kill the pests or weeds and also to refresh the soil to be used for planting. Others are known as the shifting cultivators who practice the common slash and burn methods to empty a small plot of the forest for crop cultivation.
The second source of forest burning is the pioneer and migrant farmers. These farmers are given the authorization to acquire several hectares of forested land for them to clear by burning and of course to plant commercial tree crops.
The third source of forest burning is the timber and palm oil plantation companies. Timber plantation companies first select trees of commercial value for cutting in an area and then the other remaining trees and bushes are burned in order to make way for the planting of trees that grow much faster and are used for commercial purposes. The oil plantation companies also apply the similar process of forest burning in order to create widespread palm oil plantations. The Indonesian government grants these companies of additional land concessions because these sectors such as logging and palm oil companies contribute significantly to the external trade of the Indonesian economy and thus provides a major source of foreign revenue.
Apart from the three main sources of forest burning, there are other factors that contribute to the forest fires. These are political, economic, physiographic, sociocultural, and institutional factors as well. The most important of these are the policies and institutions. According to the Asian Development Bank (2001), ‘lack of political will, inappropriate and poorly specified policies, weak legislation, ambiguous regulations, bureaucratic procedures, land-use conflicts, and inadequate resources for enforcement of laws and regulations were again and again crucial and crippling constraints.’