Incidences of wildfire hazard and its effects on forest cover change in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Forest fire is one of the major drivers of forest cover change which can be devastating and frequently causes loss of property and human life. Landsat imageries of 2013 early February (before fire) and April, 2013 (after fire) were used to analyze, interpret and quantify the effect of fire on forest cover changes in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Semi-structured questionnaires survey and focused group discussions has been carried out to collect the perceptions of respondents regarding the causes and consequences of wildfire. Satellite image analysis showed that 1.33 percent of forest cover is decreased due the fire occurred in between February and April 2013. Most of the fires evidences occurred deliberately by the local peoples to collect ‘Khar Khadai’ (Saccharum spp.) while other causes are accidental and carelessness as responded form the local people. Majority of respondents (43%) believed that loss of biodiversity was the major consequences of wildfire.