Environmental group claims forest fires in Bolivia have burned an area the size of Switzerland since August

Fri, 20 Sep, 2019 - 13:08

Press Association

Fires have consumed more than 3.1 million hectares (12,000 square miles) of forests and grasslands in just over a month in Bolivia, according to an environmental group, with the blazes affecting the South American country’s Amazon region.

The Friends of Nature Foundation said the burned area is the size of Switzerland and its estimates are based on satellite images.

In its report, it said that since January fires have burned 4.1 million hectares (15,800 square miles), including 3.1 million hectares since farmers and ranchers began burning pastures in August.

Bolivia neighbours Brazil, where fires raging in the Amazon have caused international anger and led to criticism of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s environmental policies.

But most of Bolivia’s fires are in dry forests, prairies and farmland in its southeastern Chiquitanía region although some are affecting its Amazon. The vast Chiquitanía region joins the Bolivian and Bolivian Amazon rainforests.

The animation shows aerosols over #Brazil. When breathed in these small particles can lead to cardiovascular conditions and lung problems. On 19–20 August the smoke from fires got so bad that São Paulo was plunged into darkness. Read more👉 https://t.co/SojFhCqIJY pic.twitter.com/tlaGlw540H
— ESA Earth Observation (@ESA_EO) September 17, 2019

According to the foundation, in Chiquitanía, 1.4 million hectares of burned area “corresponds to forested areas and the rest to non-forested areas.”

The government of Santa Cruz province, where most of the fires are taking place, said 2.7 million hectares have been burned in the province.

This satellite combo image provided by European Space Agency, ESA, shows levels of carbon monoxide pollution caused by the forest fires in the Amazon, between the second half of July 2019 and the first half of Aug. 2019. The agency said fires released carbon dioxide once stored in the Amazon forests back into the atmosphere, potentially having an impact on the global climate and health. Pic: European Space Agency

Authorities in Bolivia say farmers and ranchers start fires to renew pastures and clear land but the blazes got out of control this year due to a drought and strong winds that the government attributes to climate change.

Critics say a decree issued by Morales’ government in July allowing controlled burns for agricultural purposes contributed to the disaster.

Thousands of soldiers, police and volunteers are battling the blazes, along with two fire-fighting tanker planes from the United States and Russia.