Pará under fire receives G20 of Tourism – 09/20/2024 – Environment
The state of Pará, with 6 of the 20 cities that alone account for 85% of the country’s hotspots and in a level two emergency situation due to the worsening of the fires, will host the G20 of Tourism until Saturday (21) with a focus on sustainable development.
The event will take place in Belém, the hometown of Tourism Minister Celso Sabino. Next year, the capital will host COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Amid the discussion on sustainability with more than 40 international delegations, including G20 participants and invited countries, the state hosting the meeting is one of the most impacted by the fires that affect the country.
On Wednesday (18), STF (Supreme Federal Court) minister Flávio Dino demanded that Pará and five other states diagnose the reason why 85% of hot spots are concentrated in just 20 Brazilian municipalities.
Of the 20 cities, 6 are in Pará: Altamira, Jacareacanga, Itaituba, São Felix do Xingu, Novo Progresso and Ourilândia do Norte. The other municipalities are Feijó, in Acre; Apuí, Novo Aripuanã, Manicoré, Lábrea, Humaitá and Boca do Acre, in Amazonas; Aripuanã, Colniza and Nova Maringá, in Mato Grosso; Nova Mamoré, Candeias do Jamari and Porto Velho, in Rondônia; and Carcaral, in Roraima.
Pará is also the scene of megafires, a classification used for fires of more than 10 thousand hectares.
As found out by Sheeta fire that started in the state on August 8 has already burned more than 67 thousand hectares in the Kayapó Indigenous Land, in the Xingu region, according to data from NASA’s Servir-Amazônia program, which monitors the area with satellites.
On Tuesday (17), the governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho (MDB), declared a level two emergency situation in the state due to the worsening of fires and drought.
The decree authorizes the mobilization of all state bodies and entities to act in response to the “disaster and rehabilitation of the scenario” present in the territory.
According to the government, the situation has caused serious impacts on the supply of drinking water, agriculture, livestock and other activities, in addition to forest fires in preservation areas and damage to health due to air quality.
Furthermore, there is a 200% increase in fire outbreaks compared to the same period last year, according to the state government.
On Wednesday (18), Barbalho was forced to make an unscheduled landing due to the smoke from fires covering the state, interfering with the politician’s agenda.
In Belém, the city that hosts the G20 Tourism, the day was hot and clear on Thursday (19), marked by the last technical meeting of the sector.
The meeting resulted in the finalization of a report that discussed sustainability and is due to be delivered at the G20 Presidential Summit in November in Rio de Janeiro. Discussions will continue this Friday (20) and Saturday (21), when tourism ministers from different countries will address the issue based on the report.
The series of fires in Brazil has caused tension and mobilization of the Powers. On Tuesday (17), President Lula (PT) stated that the country was not prepared to deal with the problem during a meeting with the presidents of the STF, Luis Roberto Barroso, of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL) and of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).
While opposition governors demand that the government take measures against the fires, Lula signed a provisional measure this Wednesday (18) that allocates R$514 million to combat the fires in the Amazon.
The report is in Pará at the invitation of the Ministry of Tourism.
