The Japan government in 2012 had provided 53 vehicles to be mobilized for controlling forest fires. The government of Japan had provided the vehicles along with the equipment to be mobilized as mini fire engines.
The vehicles which were provided for fighting forest fires were never used for the purpose. The vehicles, however, were given to the District Forest Officer (DFO) of the District Forest Office instead of using them to control the forest fires.
According to the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation, the vehicles were used for other purposes after the vehicles couldn’t go uphill carrying forest fire controlling equipment.
Despite the claim of the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation, the vehicles can be used in various districts of Tarai region.
Under Secretary Sundar Sharma, who is also the Forest fire focal person at the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation, said the government of Japan had provided the vehicles to be used as mini fire engines to control the forest fires.
Sharma, however, said he has no knowledge about the use of the vehicles.
Fire destroys at least 200,000 hectres of forest yearly
Fire destroys at least 200,000 hectres of forest in Nepal yearly. However, no investigation has been carried out regarding the damaged caused by the forest fires. Mainly, forest fire affects the biodiversity. The forest fire destroys wildlife, vegetation and herbs, among others.
Apart from that, the forest fire also affects the land. The forest fire brings dryness in the land and also destroys the quality of the soil.
According to the research carried out in the world, the forest fire destroys property worth around Rs 20,000 billion dollar every year. Forest fire destroys around 400 million hecres of forest. The forest fires that occurred in 2009 and 2016 have been taken as the biggest incidents of forest fire in the last two decades in Nepal.
The fire had destroyed around 1,300,000 hectres of forest in the fiscal year 2014/2015 while 11 people were killed due to the forest fire.
Similarly, 49 people had lost their lives in the forest fire in the fiscal year 2008/2009. The fire had spread to around 200,000 hectre forest.
People deliberately set fire to forests
In the context of Nepal, it has been found that people deliberately set the fire to forests.
According to a research, about 64 percent of fires are caused intentionally by the people with the belief that the fire would help in the growth of fresh shoots of the plants in the forest. Similarly, 32 percent of the fires are due to negligence of the people and four percent of the fires are caused unintentionally.
According to the research, 83 percent of the forest fires are caused from February to mid-April in Nepal. The research also found that 60 percent of the forest fires are caused from March to mid-April.
Sundar Prasad Sharma, who is also the Chairman of Regional South Asia Wildland Fire Network, said there are many ways to reduce the incidents of forest fire. But none of the options have been used in Nepal yet.
Sharma was of the opinion that the efforts to reduce the forest fire have not been initiated yet as the government has not taken this issue seriously. One of the main ways to control to the forest fires is early preparation.
He said that the fire fighters and trained human resources should be deployed round the clock in the fire-prone areas to control the forest fires.
Fire causes damage of property worth Rs 100 billion
There are no details about the damage caused by forest fires yearly in Nepal.
Forest fire expert Sharma said that it is difficult to explain about the details of the properties destroyed in the forest fires as no research has been carried out for the same.
Sharma said that properties worth around Rs 100 billion will be reduced to ashes in the forest fires.
The investigation into the forest fires has been narrowed down as the government recently scrapped the Department of Investigation and Survey formed to investigate the forest fires.
