Pantanal has more than 2,000 fires in November – 11/13/2023 – Environment

In just 13 days of November, the Pantanal has already recorded 2,387 fires. Most of them are concentrated in Mato Grosso, where the fire affects private reserves, state and federal preservation areas, farms and indigenous land.

In the biome, at least 852 thousand hectares were consumed by fire and, with the heat wave affecting the country, with temperatures above 40°C, the situation is likely to worsen.

According to data from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), Mato Grosso has 1,642 fires, and Mato Grosso do Sul, 745, all in the Pantanal.

Last year, in the same period, there were only 57 hot spots in the biome, in both states.

The president of the NGO SOS Pantanal, Alexandre Bossi, remembers that, in 2022, the pantanal was already flooded in November, due to the rains that arrived between September and October and this made a difference in the outbreaks detected. “This year it’s scary how dry it is.”

Bossi, however, reinforces that the dry period, worsened by the El Niño climate phenomenon, tends to repeat itself in the years to come, and what needs to change is the government’s management of the situation.

The environmentalist assesses that there was a change in government stance after the 2020 fires, when 30% of the biome was affected by fire, according to an Inpe study, but that there is still a way to go, such as the creation of interstate or federal public policy. “The states need to talk to each other, articulate. Fire does not respect borders”, he says.

In these few days of November, the firefighting list only grows.

The coordinator of Prevfogo, Márcio Yule, an organization linked to Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Natural and Renewable Resources), is in the region of Porto Jofre (MT), where the efforts of teams from the Mato Grosso Fire Department and ICMBio ( Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation).

There is the Encontro das Águas State Park, which has recorded fires since September 28th. In October, the fire was controlled, but the hot spots resurfaced, becoming the area of ​​greatest attention in the fight.

The government of Mato Grosso also informed that there are seven other work fronts: the Sararé River hydrographic basin, Mimoso region, São Pedro de Joselândia community, Fazenda Alvorada do Pantanal, border with Bolivia/San Matías, and in the federal areas National Park Pantanal/Dorochê Reserve and Portal do Encantado Indigenous Land.

On the Mato Grosso do Sul side, the fire also arrived. Yule cites the flames in the Rio Negro State Park, close to BR-262. The government will declare an emergency in 13 cities.

In this location, according to data from the Mato Grosso do Sul Fire Department, the fire front advanced around 20 kilometers from Sunday night (12) to Monday morning (13). The Air Tractor combat aircraft is in operation in this region.

The PrevFogo coordinator also mentions another outbreak, coming from Mato Grosso, on the banks of the São Lourenço River, which “jumped” the watercourse.

Last week, a fire was also recorded in the RPPN (Private Natural Heritage Reserve) of the Caiman ecological refuge, close to the Carandazal farm. There, according to him, it was controlled and is expected to be extinguished by Thursday (16).

“It’s very dry, we have high temperatures, constant wind changes, low humidity, lightning, all of this favors fire,” he said. Despite the alarming situation, he believes that it will not reach the level of 2020, when 3.7 million hectares of the biome were burned.

In a meeting this Monday, the government of Mato Grosso do Sul decided that it will declare, this week, an emergency situation in Corumbá, Ladário, Miranda, Aquidauana, Porto Murtinho, Sonora, Rio Verde de Mato Grosso, Coxim, Bodoquena, Jardim, Bonito, Anastácio, Corguinho and Rio Negro.

The measure speeds up the acquisition of equipment to fight forest fires, such as fuel, cars and aircraft.

Data from the Alarms system at the Environmental Satellite Applications Laboratory at UFRJ (Lasa/UFRJ) indicate that the fire reached 852,350 hectares, according to a report updated by the end of Monday afternoon.

In a meeting on Saturday (11), the MMA (Ministry of the Environment) announced support for the government of Mato Grosso to face the fires, with 43 new firefighters and two helicopters. The state already had 47 brigade members and an Ibama aircraft. The state government also asked for help from the Army to improve the logistical structure.