From Fire Suppression to Community Stewardship: Re-imagining Forest Fire Governance through Law, Ecology, and Local Institutions in Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Forest fires in Uttarakhand have escalated into a systemic crisis, evidenced by a staggering 293%
increase in fire counts during the 2023–2024 season. This surge highlights the catastrophic failure of
the prevailing state-led fire governance framework to address contemporary ecological realities. A
profound socio-legal gap persists as current statutory regimes, anchored in the colonial Indian Forest
Act of 1927, treat fire exclusively as a destructive hazard or a criminal offence. By criminalising
traditional low-intensity burning (safai), the law ignores the ecological necessity of fire as a tool for
nutrient mineralisation and stand maintenance, thereby alienating the very communities essential for
monitoring the landscape. This study utilises a mixed-methods approach, integrating a doctrinal analysis
of environmental and criminal statutes with empirical field data. Primary research involved structured
interviews and a qualitative "Description Test" administered to 25 multi-stakeholder participants,
including Van Panchayat members, Mahila Mangal Dals, and forest officials across five fire-prone
districts. Findings reveal that strict suppression strategies have inadvertently facilitated a "fuel trap" by
allowing resin-rich biomass to accumulate to uncontainable levels. While 96% of stakeholders
recognise traditional stewardship as effective for prevention, 100% believe existing laws delegitimise
these practices.
The research contributes a critical legal reinterpretation that distinguishes managed "relational fire"
from malicious arson, bridging the friction between property-centric forest laws and rights-based
community frameworks. The paper advocates for a decentralised stewardship model that formalises
village institutions as statutory responders under the Disaster Management Act, positioning Uttarakhand
as a scalable template for ecological resilience across the broader region.