Brazilian Pantanal hit by record fires

Erica Cristina has been “breathing smoke every day” since a huge fire broke out across the river in the city of Corumbá, gateway to the Brazilian Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland in the world.

The blaze, which filled the bar he owns with soot, is one of hundreds of fires in the vast, wildlife-rich Pantanal, which is experiencing record fires for this time of year.

“It’s chaotic,” the 44-year-old told AFP in west-central Corumbá, where last week’s fire turned the sky bright red.

Originally from Rio de Janeiro, this long-time resident of the Pantanal region said that the increase in fires was worsening the situation for residents “as the years went by”.

“Many people have lost their homes” in fires since 2020 – the worst year ever recorded for fires in the region – and “the main problems are health, respiratory problems”, said Cristina.

In the first half of this year, satellites recorded more than 3,300 fires in a region slightly larger than England, 33 percent more than in 2020.

Experts say the fires are the result of a severe drought linked to climate change and deliberate fires designed to expand farmland into forest, burning out of control.

The Pantanal, which extends into Bolivia and Paraguay, is home to millions of alligators, parrots, otters and the highest density of jaguars in the world.

Seasonal flooding in plains, swamps, savannas and forest areas during the rainy season is crucial to the biodiverse ecosystem.

Minister of the Environment Marina Silva warned on Monday that the Pantanal faces “one of the worst situations ever seen”.

“We didn’t have the usual floods or the interval between El Nino and La Nina,” two meteorological phenomena that affect rainfall, she said.

A study published on Wednesday by the MapBiomas network said the wet surface of the Pantanal was 61% drier than last year’s historical average.

The drought “caused a large amount of organic matter at the point of combustion to cause these fires,” said Silva, who will visit the region on Friday.

– ‘Lost in the flames’ –

Fires break new records even before the peak of the dry season.

“Strong winds, fires and heat usually start in August,” but “it hasn’t rained in the region for 50 days,” Bruno Bellan, a 25-year-old cattle farmer, told AFP.

Bellan has 900 head of cattle on his family’s farm in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where much of the swampland is located, which declared a state of emergency because of the fires on Monday.

His property is two kilometers (1.2 miles) from a large fire that firefighters have been struggling to access.

“We are worried that the fire will enter the farm and cause destruction. The cattle are scared and could get lost in the flames,” said Bellan.

Retired soldier Naldinei Ivan Ojeda, 53, said he was considering leaving his hometown due to the respiratory problems he and his 15-year-old son had.

He points the blame squarely at the people who start the fires, rather than the dry conditions that drive them.

“There are no accidental fires in the Pantanal. I’ve never seen a fire come out of nowhere here. Every year is the same thing.”

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