The Supreme Court last week asked the Uttarakhand government to take preventive measures against the perennial forest fire problem. He urged the state government not to pin its hopes on temporary solutions such as “cloud seeding.” While the Supreme Court was delivering its verdict, Uttarakhand experienced its first heavy rains of the summer. Almora and Bageshwar were hit by torrential rains while Uttarkashi was hit by hailstorm. Rain has broken the drought and provided relief from the raging wildfires that have affected more than 1,000 hectares of forest. The question is whether state officials will use the respite provided by the weather to develop long-term solutions, or whether they will once again become complacent.
Of course, Uttarakhand is not alone. The SC has repeatedly called on the government to frame long-term solutions to environmental problems. And time and time again, the complexity of the crisis at hand has become an alibi for the regime to preempt it. Whether it's the repeated pollution crisis in Delhi, floods in Assam or water shortages in various parts of the country (most recently Bengaluru), mudslides in the Himalayas or wildfires in Uttarakhand, there is no escape, no blame, no easy scapegoat. , and even deny the law. The seriousness of the situation is a standard tactic to hide a lack of political will.
In Uttarakhand, the state government blamed “criminal elements” for the forest fires. Representatives from the group also told the court that only 0.1 percent of the biosphere has been destroyed. The state government had released figures for human casualties. However, all they could do was tell the SC that they would “understand the number” of animals that died in the fire. “The media is portraying the wrong picture,” said a state representative.
pine and oak trees
The sense of déjà vu for such debates is the less worrying part of this story. An even more troubling problem is that political inertia has, to a large extent, affected people's lives: their livelihoods, the infrastructure they depend on, their energy sources, their daily commutes, the farms that produce their food, and natural phenomena. Consider the case of Uttarakhand. Fire has long been essential to regenerating the state's forests. Traditionally, people set fire to fallen leaves, fallen pine needles, and grassy hillsides, and when the first rains came, new grass appeared. Little attempt has been made to understand how this once ecologically beneficial activity became linked to unscrupulous businesses, including the timber mafia.
It is also strange that in an era when decolonization and tradition have become political buzzwords, there are so few attempts to understand the region's natural heritage. For example, pine was introduced to the Himalayas by settlers. This is a hardy species, reproduces quickly, and its needle-like leaves do not increase moisture in the area. Of course, it is not a suitable tree species at a time when Uttarakhand is beginning to feel the drying effects of climate change.
In contrast, oaks, once the region's most charismatic tree species, have allowed other species to thrive around them. Its roots hold the soil tightly, and as soon as the leaves fall to the ground, they turn into humus and add it to the topsoil.
While half-hearted attempts are sometimes made to control the timber mafia, little is being done to help the natural generation of hardwood forests. In other words, what pretends to be a forest is actually a pine plantation.
A forest fire broke out in Dumakot area of Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. (Express photo courtesy of Avaneesh Mishra)
For the SC's directives on forest fire prevention to be effective, there is a need to create a repository of bioindicators that help determine the health of ecosystems, including flora, fauna, birds, and insects that aid in forest regeneration. Even if the government's response to the SC's questions is any evidence, the Uttarakhand government does not have much such information.
push from below
In an article in this newspaper, pollution scientist Abhijit Chatterjee (Good Air, Loti, Kapuda, Makan, Idaho, May 9) talks about how environmental issues have not received due recognition even after the election. He writes: and even be included in the parties' top priority list. ” The “roti kapda makaan'' of decades ago became “bijli paani sadak'' and “recently, it has turned into employment opportunities and fighting corruption,'' he points out.
The next step leads to sustainability. Macro-level solutions such as renewable energy and green hydrogen must be coupled with local-level remedies such as caring for forests and airfields, and protecting against floods and landslides. That will only happen when these issues become a regular part of politics.
Until next time
Kaushik
© Indian Express Private Limited
First upload date: December 5, 2024 19:06 IST
