Indigenous mortality due to exposure to smoke from wildfires – 05/07/2023 – Marcia Castro

Forest fires release tiny smoke particles up to 2.5 micrometers in size (MP2.5), which negatively impact human health. Particles of smoke from fires in the Amazon basin travel great distances, affecting air quality in several countries in South America.

A new study published in the journal Environmental Research Health reveals that smoke from wildfires in South America was responsible for about 12,000 premature deaths each year from 2014 to 2019—55% of those deaths occur in Brazil. Regions in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil are specific pockets of smoke exposure, with mortality rates six times higher than the general population.

The novelty of this study was to use a combination of atmospheric particle transport models and PM2.5 concentration measurements to estimate the premature mortality rate, instead of analyzing hospital admission data.

As indigenous populations in South America still have limited access to health services, hospital data would result in an underestimation of the effects of smoke exposure. The study shows that indigenous peoples are twice as likely to die prematurely from exposure to wildfire smoke than the general South American population.

The rate of fires in South America has increased in recent years. This growth is driven by forest degradation due to human activity, much of it illegally, such as mining, logging and land use for various agricultural purposes. Exposure is much higher during the Amazonian dry season, from August to November, when wildfires more than double the increase in PM2.5 concentrations.

In Brazil, recent data from Mapbiomas show that the Amazon concentrates 44.6% of the area burned in Brazil between 1985 and 2022. About 44% of this area burned in the Amazon was native vegetation and 56% in pasture areas. Recurrent burns are also common. In the Amazon, the area burned two to four times corresponded to 47% of the biome and 21% burned five or more times in the period.

Indigenous territories account for relatively few fires in the Amazon basin. The official demarcation of indigenous lands is a determining factor for forest preservation and, therefore, contributes to maintaining biodiversity and climate regulation.

Illegal mining activities, however, are a threat to environmental preservation and indigenous health. Data from Mapbiomas show that from 2010 to 2021 the area occupied by mining within indigenous lands grew by 625%. The most affected indigenous territories are Kayapó and Munduruku, in Pará, and Yanomami, in the states of Amazonas and Roraima. The negative consequences of mining on indigenous health were exposed at the beginning of the year with the humanitarian crisis in the Yanomami territory.

Indigenous deaths from exposure to smoke from wildfires, infectious diseases, malnutrition, violence and chronic and degenerative diseases resulting from mercury contamination are premature and therefore preventable. These deaths are the result of a perverse development model based on the exploitation of resources. A model that has its roots in the colonial period, and has been reinvented with varied —and equally perverse— nuances over time.

The creation of the Ministries of Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights, and the possibility that, together with the Ministries of Health and Environment, they can work together to improve indigenous health brings hope. Time, however, is of the essence. Any premature death is too high a number.

PRESENT LINK: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release five free hits of any link per day. Just click the blue F below.