Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: According to the results of an investigation by Goa’s Forest Department, although the fires that raged throughout the state in the first fortnight of March were largely started by unprecedented extreme weather conditions, there were also some man-made, albeit largely unintentional, causes for forest fires.
In addition, it was noted in the report Forest Fire Incidences in Goa (March 5 to March 15, 2023) that a total of 34 cases had been filed in connection with the fires against two people who have been identified and a number of others who are unidentified.
The report was presented to the state Assembly during the recently concluded Monsoon Session. The study also stated that all forest divisions believed that although mostly unintentional, man-made fires were to blame for the forest fires at this point.
According to the report, investigators were also looking into how claimants of forest rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) planned on starting fires. Seven locations were impacted by fire out of the 74 fire incidents that were reported throughout the state in the first half of March.
The practice of “slash burning” at cashew farms is mentioned in the study as another example of man-made fires. According to the report, the main causes of the forest fires included other elements like burning grass for pastoral and agricultural purposes and burning dry leaf litter in cashew plantations to make it easier to harvest cashew fruits.
The majority of cashew plantations are either adjacent to forests or contain pockets where forest rights settlements have been made, therefore the spread of fire to the forest is consequential and unavoidable in such circumstances, according to the paper.
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