Abstract



Forest fires lead to disastrous consequences such as huge economic and ecological losses in India. Apart from landslides and earthquakes, forest fires are one of the major natural risks in the Uttarakhand forests. It is impossible to control nature, but is possible to map forest fire risk zones for early action and thereby minimizing fire frequency. A study has been conducted in Rajaji National Park which is an important animal habitat because of its location at the meeting point of the lesser Himalayan foothills and the beginning of the vast IndoGangetic plains. Forest fire during summer months is a major problem in the park, which most of the times result into loss of fodder, habitats, as well as death of wildlife too. In the present study an attempt has been made to develop a Fire Hazard Map of Rajaji National Park where forest and wild land fires have been taking place historically, by using multi source data comprising cartographic documents, satellite imageries and statistical information about the fire history of the region. It is based upon a combination of remote sensing and GIS data. Parameters that affect fire such as Topography, Vegetation, Drainage, Settlements, Road network and Forest Guard Chowki were integrated within a GIS framework. Multi-temporal fire hot-spot data from MODIS were used as reference data. The relation between the occurrence of wild fires and the influencing factors was established. Each factor was converted into thematic layer and based upon the value of parameter at each Fire incidence location; a thematic hazard map was generated. The study area was divided into five hazard classes based upon the intensity of Hazard viz. Very high, High, Moderately, Low and Very Low. The results of the analysis were shown by maps, table and Chart. The evolved GIS-based forest fire hazard map of the study area was found to be in strong agreement with actual fireaffected sites. The resulting map can be of great use for the understanding of the fire problem and can be a good tool for the management of forest fire in the park. It also depicts the alert and alarming for wildlife conservation& its future perspectives.