Like all its siblings, this book is also a myth-buster. In short, it brings out the creative side of the much hated forest fires.
Of course fire kills the living and burns the dead. But, it also creates opportunities for new life and growth by freeing space and life-building materials. Fire creates diversity of habitats that nurtures diversity of life. Forests without fire will be fit for a few species but unfit for many.
No forest can escape fire forever. But small fires can prevent devastating conflagrations. No wonder many countries burn their forests in patterns believed to mimic historical fire regimes.
But, In India, foresters can go to jail if there is a forest fire. We spend crores on preventing and fighting benign fires. Inexplicably, modern fire science has simply bypassed India. Like conservation of wildlife in general, ignorant stereotypes, not science, rule our attitudes towards forest fires.
HS Pabla, former Chief Wild Life Warden of Madhya Pradesh, aims to change all that. He has put together a compelling account of the global best practices in the use of fire to improve wildlife diversity and productivity in a land-starved India.
Take a look "Inside Forest Fires" to know it all.
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