By Vishal Gulati Shimla, May 1 : With the world facing multiple challenges owing to the pandemic, climate change and loss of biodiversity, forests and trees that can help overcome some of the impact of these crises are burning alarmingly across Himachal Pradesh, including pine forests around Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama, largely owing to the scorching heat and almost nil precipitation in two months. Around 650 cases of pine forest fires have been reported this summer, more and much bigger than normal, with the area affected being over 4,500 hectares. Forest experts say there is a need for more investment in conservation, scientific management and sustainable use of pine forest residue that is highly inflammable and can be used as bio-fuel, an alternative to alleviate dependence on fossil fuel. Smoke from fires blanketing the skyline of the state capital is a common sight these days, as also in the hills around Kasauli, Chail, Dharampur, Bilaspur, Kangra, Hamirpur, Dharamsala and Palampur towns. "This time there is a spike in forest fire cases mainly due to a prolonged dry spell and abnormally high summer temperatures. We have identified fire-sensitive forest divisions where teams through community participation have been deployed to monitor and control fires," Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Ajay Srivastava told IANS. The department is conducting controlled fires on a rotational basis to maintain the health of forests and reduce the risk of unwanted wildfires in the future. A majority of the fires every summer are reported from pine forests, the trees shed pine needles that are highly inflammable for their rich content of turpentine oil. There are 196 forest ranges in Himachal Pradesh, of which 80 are most sensitive and fire-prone, say officials. Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur are the state's worst affected districts. "The last week was quite challenging as huge tracts of forest near the village have burnt. We are praying for timely showers to end the abnormally long dry spell," said villager Om Parkash Verma, who is settled on the outskirts of Shimla town. Forests in Himachal Pradesh cover an area of 37,948 sq km and account for 68.16 per cent of the total geographical area. The forests have been classified on an ecological basis, and can be broadly classified into coniferous forests and broad-leaved forests. The vegetation varies from dry scrub forests at the lower altitudes to Alpine pastures at the higher altitudes. In between these two extremes, distinct vegetational zones of mixed deciduous forests, bamboo, chil, oaks, deodar, kail, fir and spruce are found. Forest officials say most fires are started by human action. For instance, the local villagers tend to set grasslands afire to get softer grass after the rains. In most cases, the fire from the grasslands spreads to nearby forests. Official figures show 2018 was the worst year with 2,469 fire incidents reported -- the highest in eight years -- that gobbled up 25,300 hectares of forest across the state. In 2012-13, the second worst year, pine forest fires consumed 20,773 hectares with a total of 1,798 cases. Experts say there is technology to handle the pine needles by converting them into combustible bricks. The needle fall starts in April and continues till the beginning of July. Forest officials admit the harvesting of the needles greatly helps in checking forest fires too. On an average, a pine forest yields two to three tonnes of needles per hectare during a season and the state has pine forests spread over 1,500 sq km, found up to an altitude of 5,500 feet. According to the India Meteorological Department here, the maximum temperature in most parts of Himachal Pradesh is three to six degrees above average these days. Shimla recorded the hottest day on Friday with the maximum temperature at 27.6 degrees Celsius, five notches above the average. The latest Economic Survey report says the forest protection is being strengthened by equipping check posts at sensitive places with CCTVs to ensure electronic surveillance to curb forest offences. Firefighting equipment and improved techniques are also being introduced and made available to all forest divisions where fire is a major destructive element. A centrally sponsored scheme, the Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme, and the state's own, the Forest Fire Management Scheme, are being implemented by maintaining 2,500-km long existing fire lines or creation of new fire lines, engagement of fire watchers, control burning, procurement of fire-fighting equipment and soil and moisture conservation work in the high risk areas. Himachal Pradesh is the storehouse of biodiversity. Out of a total 45,000 species of plants found in the country 3,295 species (7.32 per cent) are present in the state. More than 95 per cent of flora species are natural to the state and characteristic of Western Himalayan flora, while about five per cent (150 species) are exotic, introduced over the last 150 years. The state's forest wealth is estimated at more than Rs 1.50 lakh crore. The Supreme Court has allowed the state to go in for silvicultural green felling of khair, chil and sal species on an experimental basis in three ranges -- Nurpur range in Nurpur forest division, Bharari range in Bilaspur division and Paonta range in Paonta division. The felling of trees was carried out during 2018-19 and in 2020-21 fencing, plantation, recuperation of areas under experimental silvicultural felling was carried out. (Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in) /IANS