Asia’s Wildfires

Asia’s Wildfires

By Dr Arvind Kumar

Damage accruing from the wildfires is as destructive as from earthquakes and cyclones. According to FAO’s estimates, Up to 56 million hectares of land are destroyed by wildfires each year in Asia. On the other hand, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Disaster Database EM-DAT, since 1970 wildfires have caused an estimated US$11.6 billion in economic damage in Asia. Therefore, the experts warn that though wildfires may not get the attention of earthquakes and cyclones but their destructive potential is considerable and warrants further attention.

FAO’s forestry officer Pieter van Lierop told recently to the media: “We are seeing more and more really big fires. The control of these fires has become an issue of high importance, not only because of the increasing number of casualties and amounts of area burned, but also because of its link with other global issues, like climate change.”
In the opinion of Pieter van Lierop, densely populated areas and widespread use of large-scale agricultural fires to clear land for farming make the Asian region particularly vulnerable to such threats.

Asia is already regarded as the continent most at risk of natural disasters.
According to UK-based ODI’s report, the combination of land conversion fires and unusually dry conditions from El Niño droughts, led to the outbreak of wildfires throughout Southeast Asia in 1997-1998, forcing some 200 million people in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to seek medical assistance. There is a dire need to take appropriate measures to reduce incidents of wildfires.