Fire Ruins Forests in
Kashmir
By Zafar Iqbal
Wildfires have destroyed an
area of forest stretching several kilometers along the Indo-Pakistani border in
Kashmir. Crews have failed to extinguish the flames due to lack of appropriate
tools and an insufficient number of personnel.
"Fire is advancing on both sides of the
border because we do not have suitable services and measures to control
it," admitted an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity as he could
be put on trial for disclosure of organizational flaws.
People believe that the fires were sparked by
lighted cigarette butts thrown down by residents fromthe nearby community.
"Flames of the fire could be seen from a
long distance and the temperature of the area has increased," said Riaz
Hassan, a social worker, who visited the scene along with officials.
"Explosions of minefields have also
caused damage to green trees and wildlife," said Hassan.
India and Pakistan have mapped minefields
along the Line of Control in Kashmir, where heavy military presence and
operations are causing ecological losses in addition to human causalities.
Since the beginning of the tropical summer,
sporadic wildfires have erupted on both sides of the Line of Control, which
divides the disputed state in two - one part controlled by Pakistan and the
other part controlled by India.
A series of similar wildfire incidents, some
described as arson, have destroyed a large forest area in Kashmir's southern
region.
Hot, dry weather conditions have been blamed
for sparking some of the intermittent fires.
At least three homes were
partially damaged when they set ablaze by fires that erupted in nearby forests
in a number of localities in the Southern Mirpur division. Farmers have lost
livestock and fodder stored on the forested lands.
Police have registered cases against 40
persons for inflicting purposeful smoldering, arson and others harms to forests
in the southern Kotli district, however, there have been no arrests yet.
Officials accuse nearby communities of abusing
the forests to further their livelihood.
"People living in areas adjacent to the
forests intentionally carry out grassfires because they believe that it
regenerates richer grass, which is used as food for livestock," says
forest officer Rehman.
In
Pakistan administrated Kashmir, eighty eight per cent rural populations largely
depend upon forest for livelihood. And eighty nine percent of households use
wood for cooking and space heating. Contributing 0.3
percent to the country’s GNP, forests
supply 32 percent of Pakistan’s total energy needs in the form of fuel wood.
Jammu Kashmir, a forestry
state divided between India and Pakistan, is habitat of Coniferous Forests, especially Deodar
(Cedrus deodar) trees, which is acclaimed globally for its herbal and
architectural characteristics.
Sadly, habitat of such valuable eco-resources is in
peril due to fires, timber smuggling, soil erosion and other reasons of
deforestation.
Government allocates modest
resources for forest protection because politicians do not show any concern
about alarming deforestation neither they have significant awareness of
sustainable development and adaptation interventions in forestry and bio
diversity. As a result, there is a
plethora of lame excuses from government managers when they are questioned
about the prevention of forest fires.
“How can we overcome the
problem of forests fire, when developed countries like the US cannot do
so?
And our foresters and guards
have to face flames of fire empty handed.”
Sardar Javed Ayub, forest
minister was quoted in a credible Urdu Daily, seemingly defending his pitiable
knowledge about environmental matters and pathetic performance of his
subordinates.
In the leadership of forest
administers like him, it is obvious that little has been done by the government for the protection and preservation of
natural habitats. Consequently, there is
an acute shortage of required trained staff and modern fire fighting
operational services.
In this region a forest
guard is assigned to safeguard 800-acre land, on the other hand, in Pakistan’s
largest populated province of Punjab, 400 acres forestland is guarded by a
single forest guard. Therefore, the depletion of forests is happening with an
alarming rate. According to government estimates about 0.8 million acres of
forest and range lands are affected by forest fires causing about 15,000 cubic
meter timber loss annually.
Jammu
and Kashmir forests are vital in protecting the catchment areas of water
reservoirs used for power generation and irrigation for both India and Pakistan
which hold political and administrative control of the region. Kashmir is origin of major Indian and
Pakistani rivers.
Pakistani has been
declared as second biggest country with respect to deforestation. FAO says with
only 0.05 ha of forest per capita against a world average of 1.0 ha, Pakistan
is comparatively forest-poor.
In such gloomy context,
environmentalists are concerned over the depletion of ecological resources and
biodiversity loss.
“It is not merely a matter
of diminution of forest due to the wildfires which alarm us. Indeed, fires are the major intruder to the
fragile ecosystem,” Ejaz Ur Rehman an environmentalist, explains the
implications of reduction of natural habitat.
Photo courtesy: Mass Global Society,
(Zafar
Iqbal is Founder of Press for Peace
(PFP). He could be reached at zafar@pressforpeace.org.uk )
[An edited version
of this article has already published at: The Environmental News Service
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