How humans burn Nature

by Yasasmin Kaviratne

The forest fires that heated the country recently has caused severe impacts on the irrigation system.

Aranda Edirisuriya President of Elahera Farmers' Association said, even if a small part of the Knuckles Mountain range is set on fire, it could impact on the irrigation system in the Polonnaruwa District.

Agriculture industry, directly depending on the irrigation system, in Minneriya, Elahera, Girithale, and Kanthale areas are heavily affected when the water level reduces due to fires in the hill country.

"The moment the springs dry up in the Knuckles, the water level reduces, and farmers are forced to rely on the Mahaweli River for irrigation, which is not the usual practice, as it is difficult to manoeuver water to paddy fields.

Water for daily use has become a problem as well," Edirisuriya said, adding that not only paddy fields, other cultivations too require constant watering.

Meanwhile, Conservator General of Forests Anura Sathurusinghe estimated that up to now 4,300 acres of forests have been destroyed due to forest fires, all of which are man-made. It is a much higher figure compared to last year, which was around 3,000 acres. "The higher damage could be attributed to the unusually dry weather this year, while the dry atmosphere, dry wind and dry trees act as fuel to the fires," he said.

Illegal activities

Sathurusinghe claimed that most of the fires originated due to illegal activities, such as hunting and illegal breweries amid forests, than the clearing of forests for chena cultivation.

He admitted that the only preventive method available is to raise awareness among the public, and increase community participation in protecting the environment and keeping the forest department officials informed of any illegal activities.

"The public should be aware that a simple action such as throwing away a match without putting out the fire, could cause massive fires," he said.

Admitting that these fires are a common occurrence during the dry season, Herath M. Dissanayake, former government servant and a farmer in Polonnaruwa said, there isn't any awareness program on fire prevention.

"It's of no use conducting awareness programs after a fire has happened. Ideally, awareness programs should be held twice a year or so, before the droughts, to inform the people of the risks of throwing cigarette butts in the forest, or matches which are lit. At present, no awareness or a sense of security is being discussed at community level", he explained.

Young men

These are not organized crimes, or, as portrayed often, hunters setting fire to the forest to chase away animals to make the hunt easy for them, he said, adding that they have witnessed groups of young men who go to the forest for a smoke or a drink, and after getting drunk, set the forest on fire.

"We've seen them rushing out of the forest, after setting fire, high on their own laughter.

They have no empathy or sympathy. These young men go to the forest in their cars or cycles. The older people hardly get involved in setting forests on fire. The dry climate and the dry wind spreads the fires fast, adding more fuel to the problem," he said.

"The damage, environmental and otherwise, caused by these fire cannot be estimated," Deputy Director of the Disaster Management Centre Pradeep Kodippili said. Once a fire has started to spread putting it out becomes a mission that involves the military as well.

"The army has been deployed to assist in putting out these fires for the past 4-5 years, and the air force is given the location of the fires to use helicopters to spray water on the affected areas," he explained.

To hire a helicopter for an hour, the DMC has to pay Rs.2-3 laks, and in most cases, they focus on spraying water in nearby areas to stop the fire from spreading, rather than trying to stop the fire itself.

"It is difficult to get the assistance of the air force helicopters for every fire. So, whenever we get their assistance, we focus on minimizing damage to lives and property, as opposed to trying to put out the fire, while it spreads."