Forest Fire in MHADEI...

Western Ghats invite interests from researchers, academicians, locals and tourist for analytical, academics, livelihood and recreational activities. Being home to nearly 1600 endemic species of plants, Sahyadris have earned the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Amidst Shigmostav celebrations in the state, reported cases on forest fire incidents rised over 92+ on 10th  March according to a report from Prudent Media Goa. Forest Survey of India declared 34.75% of total area being under forest cover in Goa. Our state hosts five wildlife sanctuaries, one national part and a bird sanctuary. Among the 36 biodiversity hotspots of the world, Sahyadris is the richest in the country.

Rising concerns for protection and conservation of biodiversityhas let to conception of this study to demarkate and evaluate the status of forest fire affected areas in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary of Goa. With 208.5 sq km of areal coverage, Mhadei Wildlife Sancuary has always faces issues of forest fragmentation and related land degradation.

The aim of this study was to prepare Normalized Burn Ratio maps of the protected area prior to and after a week of continuous burning reports. Based on these a Differentiated Normalized Burn Ratio map was prepared to locate and analyze the severity of burning  events.

Obtained results are scrutinized using news media and articles published during the period of observation. Such a study will help local and administrative stakeholders in post disaster management. Since the study only employs remote sensing data (LANDSAT 8), grountruth data is required to make firm comments on life and property loss.