We are a group of students who are passionate about forestry and wildlife. We always wanted to try something new, so thought of resolving the global issue of Carbon Emission and Climate Change by rehabilitating the land affected by forest fire, which is one of the major stakeholder in Carbon Emission.

Why this ?

Forest fire is one of the key drivers of forest degradation. Forest fire destroys more trees than all other natural calamities: parasite attacks, insects, frost, etc. Additionally, forest fires are also a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; during biomass burning large amounts of carbon dioxide, black carbon, and trace gases, including harmful GHGs such as nitrogen oxides and methane are released into the atmosphere which in turns adversely affect air quality and climate on regional and global scales.

Forest fires have adverse ecological and economic effects and are a major concern in many countries, especially regarding management and prevention (ICIMOD, 2019). National and international organizations are fighting these issues by developing different mechanisms like the Kyoto Protocol, Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Burn area mapping is essential to carry out a comprehensive assessment of damage occurring in forests due to major fire events as well as plays an important role for the planning of mitigation measures and vegetation regrowth activities. Moreover, rapid and accurately mapping using satellites images of fire burn severity is an essential initiative to support fire management activities such as strategic planning, mitigation measures and monitoring restoration of vegetation.

What do we do ?

Firstly we monitor for forest fires using Sentinel-2 satellite images and identify burned (burnt) areas using GIS tools. Once we identify the fire affected area we classify those areas according to districts and prepare a map of it. After making a map we try to contact respective District Forest Offices (DFO) for facilitation and with coordination of DFOs, Community Forest User Group (CFUGs) we survey those areas and start rehabilitation activities based on Burn Severity Level. For that we conduct several activities:

1. Research and Analysis related to forest fire,
2. Seed sowing / Afforestation,
3. Preparation, Distribution, and Protection of seedlings and saplings,
4. Establishing Forest Lines and controlled burning,
5. Train the community on how to tackle forest fires at an early stage,
6. Forest Inventory and Management Activities,
7. Help in the reintroduction of wildlife affected by forest fires,
8. Conduct awareness programs to reduce human-wildlife conflicts.

Goal

To reduce carbon footprint by reducing forest fire and rehabilitating the burnt area of Nepal.

How are we going to achieve this?

As our mission is to reduce carbon emissions by restoring the vegetation that is destroyed by fire which not only increases carbon stock, flourishes biodiversity, and enhances greenery but also empowers the locals. So, it requires proper planning and resources which is the reason we divided the whole process into 4 various phases which are:

Phase I

Preparation of forest fire Map of Chure Region and ground truthing of obtained result. Chure Area, also known as newer himalaya is the most fragile landscape of Nepal. This region consists of 37 districts of Nepal.

Phase II

Rehabilitation of burnt areas by planting high value species with coordination and cooperation of Government, NGOs and Locals. Inducing Progressive Succession in case of forest land whereas retrogressive succession in case of grassland.

Phase III

Measurement of increment in carbon stock using IPCC guidelines and converting it into monetary value. Publication of reports and presenting it over different national and international forums.

Phase IV

Implementation of processes all over the country.

What do we use for Map Preparation?

We use Google Earth Engine (JavaScript), Satellite Images and Q-GIS for map preparation whereas MS Office and SPSS are used for analysis process.

Who are the Stakeholders?

Organizations Civil Society Locals (especially Disadvantaged and Marginalized Groups) CFUGs NGO

What have we accomplished so far?

Currently, we are at the first phase i.e. preparation of a forest fire map of Chure Region comprising more than 1.7 million hectares of land. Additionally, preparation for ground truthing is going on . In addition to that, we have carried out activities of disseminating information regarding forest fire, nursery training, practical demonstration of forest management and inventory to different community people.