Bolivia’s largest region declares “red alert” in the face of forest fires

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The department of Santa Cruz, the largest and most populated region of Bolivia, declared this Thursday a “red alert” in the face of forest fires that threaten some thirty municipalities and have been considered at “extreme risk”.

“A red alert is declared due to the occurrence of forest fires in the department,” said the head of the Santa Cruz Forest Fire Unit, Yovenka Rosado, during a report on the situation in that eastern region.

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The criteria for this declaration were based on an assessment of the “progressive increase” of fires and the weather conditions such as winds and dryness that favor them, she said.

Rosado mentioned that this disposition allows that, according to the country’s norms in this matter, some thirty municipalities at risk “can see the pertinence of declaring an emergency or disaster”.

The official detailed that the most affected areas “are in the Chiquitana zone” or Chiquitania, a transition region between the Chaco and the Amazon, a site wherein in 2019 and 2020, there were also fires that devastated millions of hectares of forests and pastures.

A recent report reflects that around 200,000 hectares have been affected and that 60 burning hotspots remain active out of a total of 16,790 that have been detected throughout the year in Santa Cruz alone, she specified.

The areas with “active fires” are San Matías, on the border with Brazil, and Roboré, both of which have been controlled, as well as San Ignacio de Velasco, said Rosado.

This same information has been corroborated by the Vice-Ministry of Civil Defense in a communiqué. It said that forest and military firefighters are working on “three fronts” in areas of up to 30 kilometers.

The Chiquitano dry forest is one of the country’s most sensitive regions, where these events occur annually with sensitive effects on biodiversity in the region.

Some NGOs reported that in 2019 fires consumed 6.5 million hectares in Bolivia, while in 2020, this figure was reduced by 62 %. However, last year, the interim government declared a “natural disaster” to provide means of support.

Last June, the Ministry of Defense presented a forest fire prevention and control plan based on prevention, control, and sanction criteria for illegal burning practices.