Abstract : India, with a forest cover of 20.55% of geographical area, contains a variety
of climate zones, from the tropical south, north-western hot deserts to Himalayan
cold deserts. Enriched with ample diversity of forests bloomed with a rich array of
floral and faunal life forms. With increasing population pressure, the forest cover of
the country is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Along with various factors, forest
fires are a major cause of degradation of Indian forests. According to a Forest Survey
of India report, about 50 per cent of forest areas in the country are prone to fire. It is
estimated that the proportion of forest areas prone to forest fires annually ranges
from 33% in some states to over 90% in others. While statistical data and geospatial
information on forest fire are very weak or even not available. About 90% of the
forest fires in India are started by humans. The degree of forest fire risk analysis and
frequency of fire incidents are very important factors for taking preventive measures
and post fire degradation assessment. Geospatial techniques are proving to be powerful
tools to assess the forest fire risk and degradation assessment. The present paper
describes the present state of forests, methodology, models and case studies of forest
fire risk and degradation assessment in context to Indian forests.