Fires destroy 1.3 million hectares of Nepal forests in 15 days – ‘The fire situation is out of control’

Desdemona Despair

By Lynn Jenner
11 April 2016

As of 11 April 2016, as many as 1.3 million hectares (over 3.7 million acres) of forest cover in Nepal has been destroyed by wild fires the last two weeks.  Two persons have been killed and there have been huge losses to property across the country.  Historically April and May are the when most forest fires are recorded in Nepal.  On April 10th a record number of fires were reported in the country.

The Nepalese ministry of forests and soil conservation’s forests department, Director General Resham Dangi commented, “The fire situation is out of control. If prolonged dry conditions continue in the absence of rains, we are likely to experience a state of emergency in the coming days.”

Forests in Sindhuli, Argakhanchi, Rupandehi, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Bardiya, and Dang have been ravaged by fires in the past week, department officials stated. The satellite imagery showed that 457 forests across the country were affected by fires with the worst affected being Sindhuli, whose 40 percent forest cover has been reduced to ashes.

Nepal came up with a forest fire management strategy in 2011 was unable to implement it on the ground.  Currently only 67 of the total 19,000 community forestry user groups across the country are equipped with fire-fighting tools and the training required to mitigate the risks.

NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite collected this natural-color image using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument on 11 April 2016. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from ZeeNews Indian news agency.

Smoke and Fires in Nepal

By Anil Giri
11 April 2016

KATHMANDU (newkerala.com) – As many as 1.3 million hectares of forest cover in Nepal has been destroyed by wild fires within a fortnight, officials said on Monday.

The home ministry said at least two people have been killed and huge loss to private properties reported from many parts of the country.

Forest fires were more concentrated in the southern Terai districts of the Himalayan country, destroying flora and fauna on hundreds of hectares of land and posing significant threat to human settlements.

Eighty percent of the forest fires in Nepal are recorded in April and May. On Sunday, a record number of forest fires were reported in the country.

On Monday, Nepal army and police personnel were unable to control a massive fire in Rupandehi district.

The Nepalese ministry of forests and soil conservation’s forests department digector General Resham Dangi told IANS that fire has played havoc in the Terai region, where dense forest covers the Chure area and some districts like Mahottari, Argakhanchi, Sindhuli, Bardiya, Dhanusha and others between Terai and Chure.

“The fire situation is out of control. If prolonged dry conditions continue in the absence of rains, we are likely to experience a state of emergency in the coming days,” Dangi said.

The worst affected is Sindhuli, whose 40 percent forest cover has been reduced to ashes.

Forests in Sindhuli, Argakhanchi, Rupandehi, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Bardiya and Dang have been ravaged by fires in the past week, department officials said. The satellite imagery showed that 457 forests across the country were affected by fires, they added.

Even the National Human Rights Commission has brought to the government notice the forest fires across the country, calling for increased surveillance and deployment of adequate fire-fighting equipment and other logistics to minimise damage to forests and property of the area’s people.

Forest officials warned of more forest fires in coming days since April is the peak summer month in the Himalayan nation.

Every year, forest fires destroy hundreds of hectares of forests and cause huge economic loss in the country.

Nepal came up with a forest fire management strategy in 2011 but failed to formulate a suitable action plan to implement it on the ground.

At the community forestry level, only 67 of the total 19,000 community forestry user groups across the country are equipped with fire-fighting tools and the training required to mitigate the risks.

Fires destroy Nepal forests on 1.3 million hectares in 15 days