ABSTRACT
In this study, we review both the historical and current fire situations in Bhutan. Information from old forestry records, Forest Resource Management report in Bhutan, and data from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), and the latest satellites have been used to summarize the information. We also provide details on the local geography, vegetation types, land use/cover, and protected areas. Specific to fires, data on the slash-and-burn agriculture, fire incidences from local forest records, and MODIS and VIIRS satellite-retrieved fires, including drivers of fires, were highlighted. Forests of Bhutan are still rich occupying 70.77% of the country’s geographical area. Our analysis from the latest remote sensing data suggests a decreasing trend in fires for years. Most of the fires in Bhutan are human-initiated. Local people use fire as a tool for clearing land for slash-and-burn agriculture, regeneration of lemongrass and forage for cattle, pest control, burning of crop residues for planting the next crop, and agricultural waste disposal. Also, accidental fires are one of the causative factors. For effective fire prevention and mitigation, we call for building robust spatial data infrastructure and implementing viable management practices involving local stakeholders in Bhutan.
