Youths here held several meetings with the villagers and explained climate change as well as methods to mitigate forest fires at the community level
When anyone notices smoke in a forest, volunteers quickly go to the place, separate the dry leaves in the area and try to control the spread. Photo: Sarada Lahangir. Rising temperatures since March and April this year have caused fire incidents across Odisha and reduced priceless forest wealth to ashes. But the forests around some villages in the Kandhamal district have surprisingly remained unaffected so far.
The residents of the villages, which are about 300 kilometres from Bhubaneswar, have taken it upon themselves to prevent the spread of fire in the forest around them.
Kudupakia village under the Nuagoan block of Kandhamal district is an example where villagers have become the custodians of their forest, which gives them a source of living. And in this endeavour, youth have been at the forefront.
Volunteers from the Youth4Water Plus campaign have worked closely with the residents to educate them on preventing forest fires. The campaign, supported by UNICEF, is a network of more than 0.5 million young volunteers across Odisha.
Also read: Odisha recorded the most forest fires in India last season
These volunteers are climate advocates who focus on community-level solutions for combating and building resilience to climate change.
The Youth4Water Plus volunteers have devised a unique method of organising ‘youth choupals’ where young people and residents convene to discuss the climate change impacts they face. They also discuss solutions and actions that they can undertake to conserve their environment.
These youth choupals are regularly organised in collaboration with organisations such as Y20, Action for Social Development, Action for Nations Trust, PAGA and other partners.
Given the intense heat and threat of forest fire, the youth choupals in April focussed on forest fires and how to prevent and douse them to minimise damage to their forest.
Hrusikesh Pradhan, from the Kui Kandha tribe from Kudupakia village of Kandhamal district, is a Youth4Water Plus member. Pradhan also founded a non-profit organisation called ‘Antarang’, a network of about 20,000 youth. He started working on issues related to climate change a couple of years ago, and now his focus is on forest fires.
Pradhan told this author:
Being a local, I have seen forests close to my village ablaze with fire. I have very closely experienced climate change and its impacts, like erratic rains and extreme heat waves that shattered our lives and livelihoods.
“So, I wanted to create awareness among the villagers to take climate action, but earlier, it was very difficult to make people in the villages aware of the different ways in which forest fires were caused. Initially, we created a network of youths in the villages and started talking about the causes and preventive measures of forest fires,” Pradhan said.
With so much effort, some villagers now understand the importance of the forest in their lives and livelihoods. Now they have joined hands and are creating awareness in other villages, he added.
Photo: Sarada Lahangir
Now these youths have reached 43 panchayats in 12 tribal-dominated blocks in Kandhamal district, including Daringbadi block, which is situated at an altitude of 3,000 metres above sea level. The block is known for its lush green forests and vast plantations of coffee, black pepper and turmeric.
People in these 12 blocks of Kandhamal district mostly belong to the Kandh tribe, who speak Kui or Kuvi dialects. They are known as Kui Kandha or Kutia Kandha and are identified as the Particularly Vulnerable Tribes (PVTG).
Apart from collecting non-timber minor forest produce, they depend on agriculture as their primary livelihood source. They have been living here for thousands of years and still follow their traditional agricultural practices of slash-and-burn (also known as jhum cultivation) to clear land for cultivation which is known to trigger a forest fire.
There are many other reasons for forest fires. The tradition of collecting mahua flowers for preparing a local drink also sometimes becomes a cause.
Sometimes, mahua flowers get buried under dry leaves that fall from the trees. In order to pluck the flowers, the villagers light up the dry leaves, which, when left unchecked, spread and lead to a forest fire. Sometimes poachers are known to set forests on fire to hunt animals.
“I have seen forest fires spread to large areas very quickly. Such fires cause large-scale damage to natural flora and fauna. It also impacts the lives of the people living around the forest,” said Dippan Diggal, a resident of Kudupaika village and a climate advocate from non-profit Pantiss Foundation.
Diggal told this author:
Our tribal people solely depend on minor forest produces like mahua, sal leaves, bamboo shoots, tubers and mushrooms for livelihood. When fires break out, we lose everything. So, we make people aware that by protecting forests, we protect our livelihood and nature as well.
“We have written songs in our local Kui dialects on why and how we should protect the forest fromfires. We sing this folk song during our ‘youth choupal’ so that tribals get motivated and involved,” he added.
Earlier, the villagers did not realise the consequences and impacts of forest fires on their lives. The youths here held several meetings with the villagers and explained climate change and methods to mitigate forest fires at the community level. Their efforts paid off. Our villagers now understand that it is essential to protect our forest from fires,” said Kusumati Pradhan, a tribal leader from the village.
For tribals like us, the forest houses our living deities. They are found in the forms of plants, rocks and animals. If forests catch fire, we will be heavily affected. So, we have joined hands with these youth climate advocates to combat forest fires in our area, she added.
“When anyone notices smoke in a forest, we quickly go to the place, separate the dry leaves in the area and try to control the spread. If the fire is intense, we immediately call the forest department and seek their help,” she added.
Read more: Similipal fire shines light on dark hole in India’s real-time air quality monitoring network
Odisha recorded 642 large fire incidents during March 2-9, 2023, the highest in the country, according to the Forest Survey of India.
About 3,000 forest personnel have been engaged to control forest fires across Odisha, said sources from the state forest department. Apart from this, 16,000 Van Surakhya Samitis (forest protection committees)and 280 special squads are on the ground to prevent, report and douse forest fires.
It is heartening to know about the youth-led initiatives in Odisha to protect forests from fires, said Paulos Workneh, UNICEF India chief of WASH and CCES.
Youth volunteers from Kudupakia village in Kandhamal district have worked impressively to raise awareness, devise an alarm system and battle forest fires in the district, Workneh added.
Some “90 per cent of forest fires are manmade. We have engaged more than 100 squads besides our regular staff to mitigate forest fires. Unless we involve the local youths and the community in this process, we can’t prevent forest fires,” said Biswaraj Panda, divisional forest officer, Baliguda Forest Division, Kandhamal.
“This year till today, we have reported about 1,800 big and small forest fires in the seven forest ranges in Baliguda division,” Panda said.
The Nuagoan range is better compared to other ranges. The youths and the local communities of that block are sensitively taking quick action to stop fires. He said such initiatives should be replicated to protect forests in Odisha.
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
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