Reliance Foundation partners with Odisha Communities and Forest Department to combat rising forest fire threat

THEBUSINESSBYYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, April 27, 2025

With the mercury soaring and forest fires becoming alarmingly frequent, Odisha finds its rich green cover under siege. Spanning 52,156 square kilometres — over 33 percent of the state’s total area — Odisha’s forests have faced devastating impacts, with the Forest Department recording 19,892 incidents of fire between January 1 and April 25, 2025. Recognizing the urgent need for coordinated action, the Reliance Foundation has stepped forward to join hands with the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department of Odisha, local community groups, Vana Suraksha Samitis (VSSs), and NGO partners to bolster awareness and strengthen capacities for forest fire prevention and mitigation.

Launched on World Wildlife Day, March 8, the Reliance Foundation’s three-month-long awareness campaign, set to culminate on World Environment Day, June 5, 2025, is a comprehensive, community-centered effort aimed at combating the rising threat of forest fires. In collaboration with the Odisha Forest Department and NGO PRADAN, the initiative is actively engaging community cadres across districts through on-ground field activities and a dynamic series of multi-location audio conferences. These interactive sessions are creating vital platforms where Forest Department officials and local communities come together to exchange knowledge, discuss preparedness, and reinforce the crucial role of community participation in protecting forest ecosystems.

The campaign is making targeted efforts in districts such as Rayagada, Mayurbhanj, Kandhamal, and Kalahandi, where advisories are being disseminated in local languages to ensure deep community outreach. These advisories address both natural and human-induced causes of forest fires, while also emphasizing the local and global consequences of these disasters. Discussions have been focusing on the importance of collective action and robust partnerships between government bodies, civil society organizations, and non-governmental organizations to foster resilient forest management systems.

Central to the campaign’s mission is the goal of enhancing community preparedness, refining emergency response mechanisms, and significantly reducing the incidence of human-caused forest fires. Technical support is being provided by Reliance Foundation resource persons alongside distinguished experts such as Dr. Umashankar Nayak, Joint Director of Research at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), and Swetaleena Sahu, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Phulbani, whose expertise is steering community-level training and awareness initiatives.

Highlighting the grassroots momentum of the campaign, a day-long interactive session was organized on April 26 with the Saralia Eco-Development Committee and local youth volunteers in Balasore district. Participants engaged in lively discussions on fire hazards and explored community-driven mitigation strategies, focusing on practical measures like clearing dry branches, creating forest fire lines, and discouraging hazardous activities such as illegal hunting, unsustainable honey harvesting, and improper waste disposal.