La Paz, Sep 28 (EFE).- The magnitude of the forest fires affecting Chiquitania and the Bolivian Amazon “are beyond any capacity to contain them,” the Spanish firefighter and president of the NGO SOS Wildfire said in an interview with EFE. Ignacio Martín Diego, who is working in the area.
The expert mentioned that the problem “is not so much the intensity and virulence” of the fires as their magnitude, since they become uncontrollable as the South American country does not have sufficient personnel and means to quell them.
Martín Diego arrived in Bolivia in the middle of this month, to “accompany and advise” the Spanish contingent of 41 forest firefighters who a few days ago set foot on Bolivian soil to respond to the emergency through the support of the European Union.
“What has caught the most attention (of the delegation) is the size of the fires and the terrible environmental catastrophe that is taking place,” he said.
The Spaniard and his organization concentrated their work in the municipality of Concepción, where the Jesuit Missions declared a World Heritage Site are located, in favor of the communities affected by fire, smoke and pollution.
“We have focused above all on protecting vulnerable areas, whether they are homes, agricultural land, land where there may be some livestock” and “in areas that have significant economic or cultural value,” he said.
A fight with few means
In Concepción, the fire surrounded several indigenous villages to the point that “they were being trapped on two fronts,” which means a “very difficult” situation for the inhabitants who must live with the smoke and heat generated by the flames, Enrique said. Diego.
The firefighter said that many times the fires affected the only access and exit route to the communities, which prevented the evacuation of people and so it was decided to “confine” the people in the same threatened territory.
This specialist explained that it is one thing to work on a fire and quite another to “extinguish” that fire, for which it is necessary to “work in an orderly manner so that everyone’s efforts add up and the objective is achieved.”
“The community members really want to do things, they get involved in everything to protect their communities, but these people do not have the necessary preparation or security,” he noted.
“It cannot be that we have found people working with rubber boots, working in short sleeves (t-shirts and pants), working with synthetic clothing, with the danger of causing serious burns,” he lamented.
In the communities, people “do not have minimum equipment,” nor do they have someone prepared who knows how to guide them in the face of this adversity, so many times joint efforts are in vain as they are not correctly coordinated, he added.
“If this is happening recurrently (and) year after year the same thing is happening, then there must be an underlying problem, and solutions must be found,” he reflected.
He also emphasized that it is necessary to work with vulnerable communities in fire prevention, environmental awareness and training “so that people are prepared and have adequate knowledge” in the face of this catastrophe.
The Bolivian government declared a “national emergency” over the fires earlier this month, allowing the country to receive international aid.
The Executive indicated in its last report at the beginning of September that the fires affected 3.8 million hectares, but the Government of Santa Cruz indicated in its report on Friday that the devastated area is 7 million hectares in that department alone.
The fires that started in May are caused by legal burning or ‘chaqueos’ to clear the land for planting, livestock or clearing.
According to the Brazilian Space Research Institute (INPE), the fires recorded so far in 2024 exceed 350,370, the worst in the last 15 years in South America, since they exceed those reported in 2023 (344,391).
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2024-09-30 16:03:25
