How India's 'tree-hugger' is tackling forest fires
When more than 1,900 hectares of forest in India's northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand were destroyed by fires, one social media user took to Facebook to demand action from the government.
On Friday Ela Smetacek, who is a footwear designer and self-described "tree hugger", posted a gallery of photos on her Facebook page calling the fires "a national emergency". She wrote that several forests in Uttarakhand had been burning for days with "no media coverage whatsoever" and demanded that troops were sent to control the blazes. The fires began weeks ago, but intensified in recent days with more than 400 burning simultaneously at one point.
Ela told Trending: "I grew up on a conserve in the hills Uttarakhand. My grandfather, who was from the Czech Republic, moved to India during World War Two, and used his background in forest conservation to set up our family reserve here 75 years ago. These forests and mountains are in my blood."
Her post has been shared more than 59,000 times. Ela also set up a Facebook group for the campaign called "Uttarakhand Burning Silently" which now has almost 6,000 likes. The campaign also spread to Twitter, with hundreds of people, including the Bollywood actress and producer Dia Mirza, using the hashtags #UttarakhandFires and #UttarakhandBurning.
"Young people in India care passionately about the environment, and social media is the best way that we can spread our message. Our initiative has had support from all over the world," Ela said.
Two days after Ela's Facebook post, the Indian air force deployed helicopters to help douse the flames, although low visibility caused by smoke was said to have limited their deployment. The efforts seems to be working, as the National Disaster Relief Force, who are co-ordinating the fire-fighting effort, says that satellite imagery shows around 70% of the flames have been put out.
The cause of the fires are a point of debate. Ela says that local residents are starting fires so that dead trees can be sold into the timber industry. But that's an idea that's been denied by some environmentalists who say that the recent heatwave in the region and a high number of Chir pine trees (which are prone to catching fire) could be behind the fires. The fires come as India suffers one of its worst droughts in years, with the government saying that around 330 million are now affected by water shortages.
Vocabulary Words:
1. Tree-hugger - (noun) a person who cares very much about the environment and tries to protect it
2. Intensify - (verb) to increase in degree or strength to make something increase in degree or strength
3. Simultaneous - (adj.) happening or done at the same time as something else
4. Campaign - (noun) activities that are intended to achieve a particular social, commercial or political aim
5. Deploy - (verb) to move soldiers or weapons into a position where they are ready for military action
6. Prone - (adj.) likely to suffer from something or to do something bad
7. Shortage - (noun) a situation when there is not enough of the people or things that are needed
Discussion Questions:
1. If you were Ela Smetacek, would you also do the same thing? Why or why not?
2. It is stated in the article that media coverage and government action is not taken. If you live in this area, what would you do to prevent or stop forest fires?
3. What do you think are the causes of forest fires?
4. In what ways do forest fires affect the environment?
5. Should governments implement and intensify fire safety programs to prevent these incidents from happening? Why do you think so?
