Fires Have Already Destroyed at Least 61,000 Hectares in Paraguay

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The flames have already destroyed at least 61,000 hectares of vegetation in Paraguay, the National Emergency Secretariat said today.

According to the institution responsible for coordinating actions to reduce and manage risks caused by natural disasters, the regions most affected by the fires are near the border with Mato Grosso do Sul, in Brazil.

According to the secretariat, the largest fires are in the region of Chovoreca, where the national park of the same name is located, and in the city of Bahia Negra, on the triple Paraguay-Bolivia-Brazil border.

In addition, the National Forestry Institute has registered 71 other fires spreading throughout the territory of the Chaco.

Last week, Joaquín Roa, minister of the National Emergency Secretariat, even announced the extinction of the fires in Chovoreca and Bahía Negra. Today, however, Roa himself told Paraguayan journalists that yesterday afternoon the fire had revived in both locations.

In a statement, the National Forestry Institute reported that, based on satellite images, it estimates that in the Cerro Chovoreca Natural Monument area alone some 14,000 hectares were “affected” (one hectare corresponds approximately to the size of an official soccer field).

Created in 1998 in the state of Alto Paraguai, the area is classified as a protected wilderness and has nearly 101,000 hectares of vegetation that needs to be preserved.

In the surroundings of the city of Bahía Negra, in the same state, the flames affected approximately 47,000 hectares.

The most affected area is close to the Três Gigantes Private Protected Area, in the Pantanal, practically on the border of Brazil and Bolivia. The institute did not disclose the size of the burnt area in the other 71 locations.

The Chilean government granted the use of an air tanker to help Paraguayan authorities try to put out the fires.

According to the National Emergency Secretariat, after overcoming other fires in Toro Pampa, the aircraft should start operating in the region of Chovoreca helping firefighters and park rangers who have been operating on the ground for days, with the added support of a helicopter. Another tanker and helicopter are expected to arrive in Bahía Negra today.

In its statement, the Paraguayan Forestry Institute recalled that the most affected areas are in dry and semi-dry areas, which contributes to a faster spread of fire.

The institute appealed to the “citizen conscience” to ask for help from the population to prevent fires. It recalls the existence of laws that regulate and punish the burning of pastures, forests, and fields that result in uncontrolled fires.

“The practice of burning pastures and bush to prepare the soil for agricultural activities is common. The difference this year is that this has had even greater repercussions due to the incidents that are happening in neighboring countries and are public knowledge,” the note adds without specifying to which countries it refers.

Brazil and Bolivia, however, have been fighting for weeks to contain forest fires in their territories.

On Saturday, August 31st, Paraguay’s public prosecutor’s office established a procedure to investigate accusations that a few days ago the intentional burning of pastures on two farms located about 30 kilometers from Bahía Negra resulted in a serious fire.

With information from Agência Brasil

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