There will be a 50% increase in forest fires by the year 2100
Recently experts have warned that there will be a 50% increase in forest fires by the year 2100, but governments are not prepared to deal with it.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and GRID-Arendal have published a new report titled “Spreading Like Wildfires: The Rising That of Extraordinary Landscape Fire”.
According to this report, climate change and land-use change are making forest fire incidents more serious. Also, in this report, there are fears of extreme incidents of forest fires in previously unaffected areas and a global increase in these incidents.
Key findings of the report:
Change in the trend of forest fire:
- Climate change and changes in land use and land management practices are affecting the spread, intensity, duration and extent of forest fires.
- In areas such as arctic, tropical forests (Indonesia and southern Amazon), tropical savanna, etc., forest fires will occur more frequently.
- Incidents of forest fires are projected to increase by 14% by 2030 and by 52% by 2100.
- Reducing global fire risk is an essential component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. It is also essential for the achievement of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Impact
Impact on the global carbon cycle: Ecosystems such as peatlands and rainforests act as huge reservoirs of terrestrial carbon. A large amount of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere due to fire in such ecosystems. This will increase global warming.
This will have serious economic effects on individuals, communities and nations.
Health Effects: Smoke particles and toxic products produced by combustion cause damage to the respiratory system. In addition, they also affect the heart vessels and increase the risk of neurological disorders.
Forest fires increase the mortality rate of wildlife and cause soil erosion. In addition, it also negatively affects the functioning of the catchment area.
Recommendations:
- There is a need to recognize the impact of climate change on the prevalence and trend of forest fires and respond accordingly.
- Forest fire trends should be understood. Also, fuel management and forest fire monitoring systems should be improved.
- There is a need to integrate and support indigenous, traditional and contemporary fire management practices in forest fire fighting policies.
- International and regional cooperation on forestry needs to be strengthened.
- Investment should be balanced by spending on reactive mitigation measures for mitigation and management of forest fires.
- Communities and local authorities should be empowered.
Source – The Hindu
