The fire is ravaging Bolivia. Fires sparked in forest reserves, farmland and pastures have affected more than 850,000 hectares, nearly triple what was reported two weeks ago, according to a government report on Sunday.
“As of September 10 of this year, 854,724 hectares have been burned in the country,” reported the Deputy Minister of Civil Defense, Juan Carlos Calvimontes, interviewed by a state media network. The minister had reported on August 27 that the fires caused to expand agricultural land had affected 299,503 hectares.
Less arson
Despite the increases of the last two weeks, “there is a considerable reduction (of arson) compared to previous years”, nevertheless specified Juan Carlos Calvimontes. The government is working to ensure that, over the year, the destruction of forests and pastures does not exceed 1.5 million hectares, he also explained.
The minister recalled that in 2019 Bolivia registered the fire of 3.5 million hectares, in 2020 of 5.2 million hectares and that in 2021 the figure fell to 4.2 million. acres. This year’s fires are recorded in the departments of Santa Cruz (east), Beni (northeast), Tarija (south) and Chuquisaca (southeast). Although the fires are under control for now, Juan Carlos Calvimontes expressed concern about the fire affecting part of the Noel Kempff Mercado (541,200 hectares) and Amboró (636,000 hectares) national parks.