Context-France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has said the fires in the Amazon are an “international crisis” and called for them to be top of the agenda at the G7 summit, prompting a furious response from Brazil’s leader.

Forest fires in Amazon

• Fires in Amazon rainforest have increased by 84 per cent this year, according to satellite data released by Brazil's space research agency
• The National Institute for Space Research, Brazil detected 72,000 fires between January and August, 2019, the highest since 2013. The fire caused an hour-long daytime blackout in the city of Sao Paulo owing to smoke coming from a forest burning 2,700 kms away.

What is causing the Amazon rainforest wildfires?                                 

• The Amazon rainforest has been fire-resistant for much of its history because of its natural moisture and humidity but NASA has said drought and human activities are causing wildfires.
• Dry season provides favourable conditions for wildfires in Brazil, but they are also often caused by fires meant to clear the land for cattle ranching.
• The country saw 88 per cent increase in deforestation in June 2019, according to data published by the research agency. But, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro dismissed the data saying it's a season when farmers use fire to clear land.
• In Mato Grosso and Para, where Brazil’s agricultural frontier has expanded and pushed into the forest basin, more deforestation has been recorded and wildfires have increased.
• Cattle ranching is the largest driver of deforestation in every Amazon country, accounting for 80 percent
  of current deforestation rates.

Why is the Amazon rainforest so important to life on Earth?  

• The Amazon is often referred to as the planet's lungs.
• This is because it produces 20 percent of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere.
• The rainforest is considered vital in slowing global warming and is also home to uncountable species of fauna and flora.
• The Amazon is the largest rainforest on the planet.

'Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India’, Report

jointly prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the World Bank 

Key findings

Forest fires in India are both widespread and concentrated

• At least 60 percent of districts in India are affected by forest fires each year.
• While states in the Northeast account for the greatest share of fire detections, the largest area affected by fire is in the Central region

Fire potential and behavior is shaped by a combination of natural and social factors

• India’s monsoons are largely responsible for the seasonal nature of forest fires in the country. Forest fires peak during the dry months of March or April before the arrival of the monsoon.
• Nearly all forest fires in India, as in other parts of the world, are caused by people as important goods and services obtained from forests (such as fodder for their livestock) are generated or gathered through the aid of fire.
• Shifting societal and cultural practices also play a role, as with the use of fire in traditional shifting cultivation (jhum).

A vacuum exists at the level of national policy

• A cohesive policy framework with a clear strategic direction provides the foundation for successful Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FFPM) which is absent at the policy level.
• Though MoEFCC had issued national guidelines on FFPM in 2000, they are no longer being implemented.
• A shortage of dedicated funding for FFPM at the central and state level has been a perennial issue, which has been documented by the Comptroller and Auditor General in various states.

India has developed robust detection systems for forest fires

• Using satellite data, Madhya Pradesh was the first state to develop an SMS-based system to alert field staff of active fires burning in their area. Since then, Forest Survey of India (FSI) has rolled out a nationwide system.
• Satellite-based detection has helped fill a gap left by under-resourced ground detection. As these satellite systems continue to be upgraded, they would benefit from greater integration, including the increased collection of field-based reporting for verifying satellite-derived fire alerts, as well as improved data sharing between the states and FSI.

Post-fire management is not being treated as part of the FFPM process

• Post-fire data collection is an essential part of the fire management process and crucial to producing informed FFPM plans and policies.
• A lack of standard protocols for collecting and reporting information on fires, including their causes, has made it impossible to aggregate data across states.
• The states will need help from MoEFCC and the research community in developing standard methods and protocols for assessing ecological impacts and economic damages from fire.
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Forest fires in India tripled in the last four months (Forest survey of india)

1. The number of forest fires shot up to 14,107  from 4,225 between November 2018 and February 2019 according to the Real Time Forest Alert System of the Forest Survey of India (FSI).
2. The Forest Alert System is part of the Large Forest Fire Monitoring Programme that was launched by the FSI on January 16, 2019 using near real time data from the SNPP-VIIRS satellite.
3. Between January 1, 2019, and February 26, 2019, 209 out of 558 forest fires occurred in the five southern states of India — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Kerala. That is 37 per cent of the fires.

Reasons for recent higher forest fire in southern states -

• Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka — the three southern states which recorded a 217 to 401 per cent increase in incidences — spent only 60 per cent of the funds meant to contain fires.
• It is not just the state forest departments. The Centre too has come under criticism for not releasing enough funds for prevention and management of forest fires.
• While India loses Rs 1,176 crore a year to forest fires, a mere Rs 45-50 crore is allocated per annum under the Forest Fire prevention and Management Fund, which remains unspent 

Way Forward                          

Policy

• A national policy is required to consolidate existing guidelines and to issue comprehensive guidelines for FFPM which should be aligned with the climate change policies.
• The policy should also define the respective roles and responsibilities of the MoEFCC, state forest departments, and disaster agencies, and establish a mechanism for the provision of regular funding for FFPM to the states.
• The process of formulating the national policy should be open, consultative, clearly defined, and time-bound.

Staffing, capacity, and management practices

• Inadequate resources and lack of sufficient staff on the ground are some of the reasons for ineffective prevention, detection, suppression, and post-fire practices.
• Ground-based detection will continue to be essential along with the introduction of new remote sensing technologies. So, training should be provided to field officers, seasonal firewatchers, and community volunteers involved in firefighting. 

Coordination with other agencies and entities

• Since forest fires are not typically treated as disasters, the disaster management authorities have so far played a minor role in FFPM.
• Stronger collaboration between the State Forest Departments (SFDs), the disaster management authorities and research entities would enable states to innovate new science-based management approaches for preventing fires and rehabilitating fire-affected areas.

Technology

• FSI has begun the development of systems for early warning and fire danger rating, and these efforts should be continued.
• Digitization of management boundaries by the state forest departments should be completed so that FSI can more accurately determine which fires to report and to whom.
• Fire alert systems can also be improved by integrating ground-based detection with the satellite-based alert systems.

Community Engagement

• Sensitization of communities should be done to ensure that fire is used responsibly in a way that promotes forest health, while seeking to avoid damaging and out-of-control fires.

• Provision of training should extend beyond state-managed forests to community institutions in regions such as the Northeast, where communities are responsible for managing most of the forest estate.

How an Environment Benefits From Forest Fires

• When forest fires burn, they can actually help revitalize the watershed in a variety of ways. This includes renewal of soil chemistry, increasing food sources for fish, replenishment of streamside vegetation, recycling of nutrients, and fire-adapted plants being dispersed. In addition, a stand burning can cause a patchwork mosaic on the landscape of younger forest patches which ultimately means fewer future forest fires. Without this happening, future wildfires could become so large so as to be out of control.
• Forest fires allow for the renewal of the soil. Of course, this must occur outside of any areas that involve human development, as those areas being damaged would not be beneficial. Plants can be abnormally malleable to the blights of a forest fire, and some are even reliant on fire for their survival. In dry areas where fires occur often, some tree species have developed thick bark, making it conceivable for them to withstand several low-intensity fires
• The fact is, most forests need canopy fire to regenerate because most trees in the forest including lodgepole pine, pine barrens, and eucalyptus only produce seeds if there is a fire. So if no human comes along and artificially starts a fire for this purpose, a wildfire in the forest is the next best thing for producing those seeds. As an example, fireweed is frequently one of the earliest species to import new color to a forest with its pink-purple flowering in the wake of a forest fire
•  Intermittent burning increases biodiversity by inducing environmental changes that result in the boosting of plant and animal communities that are adapted to fire. This means “resetting the clock for the ecosystem” by allowing it to flourish for hundreds of years to come as a result. This is “survival of the fittest” since these environmental changes ensure that only the strong survive.
•  Intermittent burning also decreases the annual fuel accumulation in forests and grasslands. The reduced amount of fuel build-up is not only a positive environmentally, it reduces the risk of said fuel generating greater fire strength and as a result, the entire ecosystem is less likely to be forced to deal with catastrophic wildfires.
• Wildfires remove low-growing underbrush, clean the forest floor of debris, and nourish the soil. Reducing this competition for nutrients allows established trees to grow stronger and healthier
• Forests provide shelters to animals and birds. Fire clears wildlands of heavy brush, leaving room for new grasses, herbs and regenerated shrubs that provide food and habitat for many wildlife species. When fire removes a thick stand of shrubs, the water supply is increased. With fewer plants absorbing water, streams are fuller, benefiting other types of plants and animals.
•  Fire kills diseases and insects that prey on trees and provides valuable nutrients that enrich the soil. More trees die each year from insect infestation and disease than from fire. Many forests struggle against diseases such as pitch canker and bark beetle infestations – pests that destroy the part of the tree that delivers nutrients to the roots, leaves and needles. Fire kills pests and keeps the forest healthy. Vegetation that is burned by fire provides a rich source of nutrients that nourish remaining trees.