Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India
Fire has been a part of India’s landscape since time immemorial and can play a vital role in healthy forests, recycling nutrients, helping tree species regenerate, removing invasive weeds and pathogens, and maintaining habitat for some wildlife. Oc...
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/333281529301442991/Forests-and-fire-strengthening-prevention-and-management-in-India http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30013 |
| Summary: | Fire has been a part of India’s
landscape since time immemorial and can play a vital role in
healthy forests, recycling nutrients, helping tree species
regenerate, removing invasive weeds and pathogens, and
maintaining habitat for some wildlife. Occasional fires can
also keep down fuel loads that feed larger, more destructive
conflagrations, but as populations and demands on forest
resources have grown, the cycle of fire has spun out of
balance. Large areas of degraded forest are now subject to
burning on an annual or semi-annual basis. As these fires
are no longer beneficial to forest health, India is
increasingly wrestling with how to improve the prevention
and management of unwanted forest fires. India is not alone
in facing this challenge. Forest fires have become an issue
of global concern. In many other countries, wildfires are
burning larger areas, and fire seasons are growing longer
due to a warming climate (Jolly et al 2015). With growing
populations in and around the edges of forests, more lives
and property is now at risk from fire. About 670,000 k |
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