Sikkim hosts regional workshop on forest fire prevention

GANGTOK, :A regional workshop on “fire prevention and mitigation strategies” was held here today, bringing together stakeholders from across Northeast India to deliberate on strengthening forest fire mitigation systems.

Organised by Sikkim Forest and Environment department and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), the event saw participation from senior forest officials, disaster management authorities, domain experts and field practitioners from multiple States.

In the inaugural session, Forest principal secretary-cum-PCCF Dr. Pradeep Kumar highlighted Sikkim’s proactive and effective approach towards forest fire prevention and underscored the need for continued cross-sectoral coordination and strong community participation. He said forest fires have wider implications including water scarcity and public health concerns, and thanked IIFM, Bhopal for recognising Sikkim’s leadership in forest fire prevention and mitigation.

Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) director Prabhakar Rai spoke on forest fires from a disaster management perspective, and lauded the cooperation between SSDMA and the Forest and Environment department. He called for enhanced coordination among all stakeholders for effective forest fire management.

Technical sessions featured presentations on State-level preparedness, institutional strategies and field-level best practices in forest fire management across Northeastern States. Chief Conservator of Forests (HQ/T) Karma Legshey and Gangtok DFO (T) Kshitij Saxena presented Sikkim model, highlighting innovations in preparedness, coordination, early warning, rapid responseand predictive forest fire mapping, which have significantly strengthened the State’s fire management outcomes.

Best practices from Assam, Nagalandand National Remote Sensing Centre were also presented.Separate working groups focusing on community-centred fire prevention, strengthening early warning systems, improving institutional coordination, and enhancing fire response and post-fire recovery strategies presented their observations before the house, the release mentions.

In his closing remarks, principal secretary of Education and Science & Technology departments Sandeep Tambe appreciated the steps taken by the department and thanked participants from Northeastern States for sharing their views and enriching the conference.

The workshop concluded with a roadmap to strengthen inter-State collaboration, integrate modern technology with traditional knowledge, and enhance capacity at all levels to address emerging challenges posed by forest fires.The opportunity provided mid-level and frontline officials with much needed state and national exposure regarding best practices for forest fire prevention and mitigation, the release adds.