BIONATURE

The increasing population, urbanization, and several other factors, including the frequent occurrence of forest fires, pose a serious threat to the forests, which serve as ecosystem balancers. Without exception, forest fires have significantly increased in India, impacting biodiversity, wildlife, and other natural resources. Burning of vegetation releases huge amounts of carbon, greenhouse gases, and other gaseous compounds into the atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change. Human-influenced activities such as Jhum cultivation, deforestation, and firewood burning are the major causes of forest fires in India. Therefore, monitoring and management of forest fires is essential for countries like India. To effectively monitor and manage forest fires in India, it is crucial to possess knowledge about the forest types, vegetation patterns, and forest fire causes. Therefore, government organizations have reviewed the forest fire conditions in India, adopted several mitigation measures, and implemented various initiatives and policies to detect and control forest fires. There has been development of satellite sensing and GIS to visualize the scales and periods of forest fires in real-time. Joint Forest Management (JFM) Committees are also working with the local communities to control forest fires in villages, providing them lucrative incentives for their beneficial work. The paper delves into the challenges and mitigation strategies that can aid in effectively managing forest fire issues.