The combination of searing heat due to rising mercury levels this summer preceded by unprecedented drought owing to monsoon failure in 2023 has brought to the fore the threat of forest fires plaguing national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Karnataka.
Bandipur, Nagarahole, MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, BRT Tiger Reserve are more prone to devastating fires given the dry deciduous nature of the vegetation. Add to this, the proliferation of invasive weed lantana, and the stage is set for a conflagration that could go out of control.
Elephants scouring for fodder and water in the dry jungles of Bandipur. | Photo Credit: SRIRAM MA
Overrun by lantana
Bandipur in 2019 and Nagarahole in 2012 bore the brunt of some of the deadliest fires that ravaged large swathe of forests and reduced them to cinder, recovering from which takes years.
In Bandipur, authorities are on high alert as more than 60% of the national park spread over 912.04 sq km has been overrun by lantana. Not only is it inedible for the herbivores, but it is dry and highly inflammable, and is akin to fuel in the forest. A tiny spark could lead to a conflagration that could spread rapidly and would take days to control, by which time hundreds of acres of forest cover, along with edible vegetation for herbivores, would have been destroyed.
The added concern is the loss to the biodiversity and habitat degradation, which could have a bearing on the wildlife population of the national park in the long run.
Water holes in Bandipur and other forests tend to go dry during peak summer adding to water stress for wildlife. | Photo Credit: SRIRAM MA
Cascading effect
If there is no concerted effort to prevent forest fires, the devastation to the vegetation and, in effect, fodder availability to the herbivore population, will diminish. This will set in motion migration of the herbivores to greener pastures, or their numbers will decline in the medium to long run, which will have an adverse impact on the carnivore population.
The two national parks — Bandipur spread over 912.04 sq km and Nagarahole over 847.98 sq km — are home to 376 tigers besides elephants, leopards, dholes and a host of herbivore creatures, as per the assessment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). But any habitat imbalance by way of degradation through recurring fires and further proliferation of lantana can put a question mark on the long-term viability of the tiger numbers.
Early preparation
Knowing this, the Forest Department starts preparations early during the onset of winter. A key element in preparations to ward of a wildfire is the controlled burning of vegetation along boundaries of forest division, range, and beat.
These vegetation-free patches of land are called fire lines. They stop wildfires from spreading from one compartment, or block of the forest, to another, and thus acts as a barrier. In Bandipur, the cumulative length of the fire line is around 2,700 km, and it is about 2,450 km in Nagarahole.
Ramesh Kumar, who was till recently the Director of Bandipur National Park and Tiger Reserve, said apart from drawing fire lines, they also launched an outreach programme in 2023 to make villagers living on forest fringes, as partners in conservation.
Bandipur Yuva Mitra
“Bandipur Yuva Mitra, as the concept is called, focuses on providing nature education programme for students, sensitise them on issues related to environment and conservation, as they are the local stakeholders,’’ said Ramesh Kumar.
The authorities believe there will be long-term benefits from the programme as students are also trained to become eco volunteers and can come in handy during fire season. The importance of the local community’s cooperation in preventing a fire can be gauged by the sheer density of human population surrounding these forests. While there are about 136 villages surrounding Bandipur, Nagarahole is surrounded by a little more than 100 villages.
Hence, it is customary for the Forest Department to appoint fire watchers drawn from the local community from January through April-May every year during which they are given free ration besides daily wages as per the prevailing norm. Nearly 500 watchers for Bandipur and a similar number of watchers are recruited for Nagarahole every year. This practice, which is in vogue in other national parks as well since decades, is also a gesture to create goodwill among the local community.
Solar-powered borewells help replenish waterholes during peak summer in Bandipur and Nagarahole. | Photo Credit: SRIRAM MA
Use of technology
“Along with traditional methods, technology is also being harnessed to fight forest fires and to stay vigilant to prevent their outbreak,” according to Harshakumar, Deputy Conservator of Forest and Director, Nagarahole. Thermal drones have been deployed to get an aerial view of the terrain and identify smoke emanating from any part, and rush fire fighters to douse a fire before it turns into a conflagration.
In addition, the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, has been disseminating satellite-based forest fire alerts on location to all States and UTs, and other registered users through SMS and email. This is not new and is in vogue since the last few years enabling the authorities to take effective steps to control a fire at the initial stage itself so as to minimise the damage and loss. These technological initiatives complement ground-level monitoring, but there is no foolproof mechanism to prevent a fire.
While Bandipur and Nagarahole have not reported major fires in the last couple of years, BRT Tiger Reserve reported a couple of fires during March 2024, but they were brought under control with minimal damage.
An elephant beating the heat in the forests of Bandipur. | Photo Credit: SRIRAM MA
Seasonal waterholes
Coupled with the searing heat during summer is the issue related to water for wildlife. Most waterholes in forests are seasonal and tend to dry up during peak summer. There are 418 waterholes in Bandipur and about 360 in Nagarahole, most of which tend to go dry by late summer. Hence, in the last few years, the Forest Department has been drilling borewells that are energised by solar power.
In Bandipur, about 47 such solar powered pumps are in place with plans for an additional 10 pumps this year, taking their number to 57. These are located in water-stressed zones of the forests, like Omkar, Kundgere, Hediyala, and G.S. Betta, and also areas which are key routes followed by wildlife during migration.
In Nagarahole, 26 such pumps have been installed all of which help replenish water holes to enable the animals to beat the heat and tide over summer.
While such interventions have been criticised on the grounds that they are upsetting the natural selection by weeding out of the weak resulting in an increase in animal population, a section of wildlife activists have justified it on the grounds that the natural habitat of the animals has anyway been lost significantly, or disturbed and degraded, and hence a positive intervention will only help compensate the loss.
The other argument in support of positive intervention is that loss of fodder coupled with lack of water could force animals to enter human habitation, escalating conflict situations, which are already high around Bandipur and Nagarahole, and such initiatives help curb man-animal conflict to a great extent.
While solar powered bore wells may replenish seasonal water holes, both Bandipur and Nagarahole benefit from the perennial sources from the Kabini backwaters bordering both these tiger reserves. As a result, the Kabini backwaters is an area of large congregation of elephants and other animals during summer.
Besides, as the water level in the reservoir recedes, the moist ground facilitates the growth of fresh shoot of grass, drawing hundreds of herbivores, including elephants, which tend to congregate in large numbers to graze on them, and helps wildlife tide over the impact of heat and drought.
Guarding forests amidst elections
A new challenge in the coming days is the Lok Sabha elections during which it is customary for government staff to be deployed on election duty, resulting in reducing staff strength on the ground. But field staff and those engaged in critical forest protection duties have been exempted from election duty in the past. Authorities expect a similar gesture from the Election Commission this time as well.
The threat of fire begins in the second week of February and lasts till the onset of pre-monsoon showers some time during mid or late April to early May. So, for the Forest Department, the battle is just half-complete. The vigil will continue for a few more weeks till nature intervenes in the form of rains.
