Frequent, Uncontrolled Forest Fires Making Animals Species Highly Endangered, Say Experts

The CCF outlined that the majority of fires in the area's forest area occur from March to June which is the breeding season for many bird species.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter conducts a 'Bambi Bucket' operation to control the forest fire in Pauri Garhwal district.

Source : PTI

Annually occurring forest fires in Uttarakhand are not only causing serious damage to forest resources like trees, plants, bushes, herbs, and thick layers of soil but also threaten rare Himalayan fauna like wild animals, mammals, reptiles, birds, butterflies, common flies honey bees and soil-enriching bacteria.

"We have several rare species of birds whose breeding season coincides with the forest fire season, from April to June. Frequent and uncontrolled forest fires are gradually making these species highly endangered in Uttarakhand forests," Sanjeev Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forest (Research), said, PTI quoted saying.

The CCF stated that the breeding season for many bird species, including the cheer pheasant, kalij pheasant, rufous-bellied woodpecker, common rose, chocolate pansy, and common crow, runs from March to June. This is also the time of year that the majority of fires in the area's forest area occur.

"The cheer pheasant, a native bird of the western Himalayas, which inhabits at altitudes of 1800-3200 meters is highly vulnerable to forest fires as it makes its nest in deep bushes on the ground and its breeding season coincides with the forest fire season," Chaturvedi said. He highlighted that the cheer pheasant is listed in the category of endangered bird species internationally.

Surendra Panwar, a researcher and observer of the Himalayan birds in Munsiyari, said "Not only the cheer pheasant but rare birds like the pipit bird, rose finch and the Himalayan monal have also become endangered due to several reasons, including forest fires in the breeding season."

As per Panwar, the number of the rarest of rare Himalayan quail, a species known to be beloved by world-famous ornithologist late Salim Ali, is also diminishing in the region due to the carelessness of the stakeholders of Himalayan fauna.

Butterflies In Himalayan Region In Endangered: Jagdish Bhatt

Jagdish Bhatt, founder, and director of Wings Foundation, an NGO working towards preserving the Himalayan butterflies, outlined that out of the total 350 species of butterflies found in the Himalayan region, 120 are on the verge of getting endangered as they breed in host plants that are destroyed in forest fires. "Even their caterpillar larvae get destroyed in fires making these varieties highly endangered," Bhatt said.

The effect of forest fires on the yellow-headed tortoise, which is widespread in South Asia, is another topic of study being conducted by the Forest Research Institute, located in Dehradun. Because of its endangered status, it is included in both the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972's schedule 4th and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora's (CITES) appendix, according to sources.

"Under the study to find the impact of forest fires on its (yellow-headed tortoise) existence, we will deploy radio transmitters on tortoise track for two years in the Chilla range of the Rajaji National Park," CCF Chaturvedi said, PTI reported.

According to a bulletin from the forest department, since November of last year, forest fires in Uttarakhand have destroyed more than 1,437 hectares of forest. There haven't been any new incidents reported in the last few days, according to the state, which means that the recent rainy spell in many areas of the state has given much-needed relief from them.