As a result of the fires that were registered in different parts of the country over the last few months, the Government declared the igneous emergency Throughout the national territory.
The decision was made effective through Decree 6/2022, published this Wednesday in the Official bulletin and that bears the signature of the president, Alberto Fernandez; the chief of staff, Juan Manzur; and the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Juan Cabandié.
“Declare the Igneous Emergency in the entire territory of the Argentine Republic for a period of one (1) year from the entry into force of this decree, in order to adopt the measures that are necessary to promote and address with imminent character the budgeting and fighting of fires, the restoration of affected areas and the prevention of new outbreaks “, reads article 1 of the initiative of the Executive Power.
In addition, the Environment portfolio was entrusted to convene “A Working Group made up of all the parties involved, in order to coordinate the adoption of the measures and actions that are necessary to attend the declared emergency ”.
The increasing number of sources of forest, rural, grassland and interface fires in our country constitutes “a worrying multi-causal phenomenon that demands the adoption of immediate measures, through maximum coordination and cooperation among the organizations to whom this issue is transversal. ”, Argued the Government.
In the decree published this morning it was noted that in recent months the “massive and repeated fires in different critical areas” of the country have acquired “an alarming dimension and represent a serious threat both to the environment and its ecosystems as well as to the heritage, health and lives of people”.
In the recitals it was also mentioned that the situation, “caused by mainly anthropic activities whose consequences are aggravated by climate change”, has harmed different ecoregions of the country and generated “Harmful consequences on native and implanted forests, protected natural areas, agricultural areas, prairies, grasslands, scrublands and wetlands.”
Although the National State, through the Federal Fire Management System, intervenes in the affected areas, providing means and personnel to fight the fires, “the seriousness of the situation has increased along with adverse meteorological circumstances that have been discouraging when fighting the fires, which has implied an increase in the environmental liabilities generated and of the damaged goods and people ”.
The Igneous Emergency was requested by the governments of the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut, Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz, on December 27, with the aim of addressing the situation in Argentine Patagonia.
The following day, the Federal Environmental Council urged local jurisdictions, the private sector and the competent areas of the National State to strengthen forest fire prevention policies and declared a State of Igneous Emergency throughout the national territory for 12 months. to “prevent and mitigate the environmental, personal and property damage that they cause.”
“By virtue of the risk of overcoming the response capacity of the media engaged in fighting the fire, the criticality of the situation and the imminent danger of an environmental catastrophe, it becomes necessary, imperative and convenient to proceed to declare the Igneous Emergency in all the national territory in order to adopt urgent measures, to convene with great urgency the agencies involved and the provincial authorities with the main objective of stopping the fires and immediately starting a restoration plan for the affected areas ”, the National Government defined by decree .
In this way, as indicated by the Executive Power, the joint work between the Nation, the provinces and local organizations will be streamlined and simplified.
The Interior Ministry announced that it will add $ 800 million to the provinces most affected by the fires: Río Negro, Neuquén, Chubut and Misiones.
On the other hand, in the face of the heat wave that is registered in much of the country, the National Fire Management Service (SNMF), warned regarding the increase in dangerous conditions for the occurrence of forest and grassland fires, and recommended “Extreme prevention measures”.
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