Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday said close to 26 percent of the forest areas in the state are vulnerable to forest fire, while around almost 60 percent of the areas have Moderate to very high vulnerability trend.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today released three significant publications focused on Meghalaya’s forests, alongside launching an online portal named the “Meghalaya Forest Fire Information System.” The event took place at the Cabinet Room in the Main Secretariat.
The publications released include: “Rotation Age and Volume Estimation of Khasi Pine in Meghalaya (Volume I)”
“Forest Inventory of Sacred Groves in Meghalaya (Volume III)” “Geospatial Mapping of Forest Fire Vulnerable and Forest Fire Prone Areas in Meghalaya”.
The publication on Geospatial Mapping of Forest Fire Vulnerable and Forest Fire Pine Areas in Meghalaya outlines a comprehensive spatio-temporal assessment of the forest fire scenario of the State for effective disaster risk reduction planning.
He also launched the Meghalaya Forest Fire Information System (MeFFIS) dashboard, which can be accessed from the official website of the department www.megforest.gov.in.
The dashboard can be used by the citizens to report on fire related incidents, including jhum fire or non-jhum fire. An app on the intervention was also launched, for individuals to upload forest related information.
In his address, the Chief Minister said under the chief ministers research scholar program, various reasearch initiatives are being undertaken.
Conrad Sangma expressed enthusiasm for the potential of linking various research studies to create predictive models. This would help in understanding the interactions between different environmental and economic factors, such as how catchment areas influence water springs and the impact of economic activities on forest fires.
He urged for continuous research and digital preservation of data, advocating for trend analysis to inform policy-making and corrective measures. Sangma concluded by thanking research partners and encouraging ongoing collaborative efforts to enhance the understanding and management of forest resources in Meghalaya.
The launch of the Meghalaya Forest Fire Information System is expected to play a crucial role in monitoring and mitigating forest fires, contributing to the sustainable management of the state’s forest resources.
Meanwhile H. C. Choudhary, IFS, PCCF (Working Plan, Research & Training and District Council Affairs) Addl. Charge as APCCF (CC, R & T) Shillong Meghalaya, said NESAC has developed a forest fire incident reporting App for Forest and Environment Department, Meghalaya. With this Webportal, the information will be there for forest fires which has happened in the entire state since the year 2002, with this data base now available, the areas which are more vulnerable and prone to the forest fire are identified. The West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi are more vulnerable amongst all the district