Regardless of where you are in Brazil, you've probably noticed gray skies in recent weeks or at least heard about cities with very poor air quality. This has been happening due to a number of factors that combine the arson fires in regions such as the Amazon, the Pantanal and the Cerrado with negligence on the part of federal, state and municipal governments. Below, we summarize some of the main points related to this climatic disaster caused by human actions that has been generating environmental destruction and damage to human health throughout the country.
The smoke from the fires in Brazil has spread intensely over the last month, affecting various regions of the country. The phenomenon is a consequence of the high rates of deforestation and forest fires, particularly in the Amazon and Cerrado. The pollution generated by the fires has significant impacts on public health, causing respiratory problems and affecting air quality in urban and rural areas (CNN, 2024a).
The area of native forest in the Amazon affected by fire increased by 132% in August 2024, compared to the same month the previous year. This significant increase, reported by the Fire Monitor of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), underscores the severity of the environmental crisis facing the region. The rise in fires is linked to both deforestation and climatic conditions, intensifying the damage to biodiversity and contributing to global climate change (G1, 2024a). In the same vein, MapaBipmas (CNN, 2024b) points out. Half of the total area burned in 2023 occurred in August alone (Diário do Centro do Mundo, 2024).
According to Correio Braziliense, in August 2024, the area burned in Brazil reached 5.65 million hectares, equivalent to the size of the state of Paraíba. This figure represents an increase of 149% compared to the same period in 2023. The Cerrado was the most affected biome, with 2.4 million hectares destroyed, followed by the Amazon with 2 million hectares (Correio Braziliense, 2024).
It's worth sharing Globo Rural 's map showing the hotspots of fires in Brazil. MetSul also has an interesting image showing the advance of smoke across the country:
The effects of this catastrophe, however, do not remain isolated to the areas where the fire hit. The smoke has also reached Brazil's neighboring countries, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay (CNN, 2024d). In addition, states in the south of Brazil have recorded smoke and “black rain” in the last week (O Globo, 2024). The smoke from the fires in the North and Center-West has been carried to the South of the country by wind currents, mixing soot with raindrops. This type of precipitation brings polluting particles and harmful substances that can affect the environment and human health, making water unfit for consumption (CNN, 2024c; Governo RS, 2024).
In this scenario, what actions are being taken by the public authorities?
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) has opened 185 investigations in one year into fires and burn-offs in various regions of Brazil. The actions are aimed at holding the perpetrators of environmental crimes accountable and strengthening the fight against fires, especially in sensitive biomes such as the Amazon and the Cerrado. These investigations reflect the intensification of legal measures to mitigate the environmental damage caused by fire (G1, 2024b).
In the state of Mato Grosso, 17 people were arrested in 2024 for their involvement in arson, according to investigation reports. The arrests are the result of operations aimed at combating forest fires in areas of pasture, forest and crops (G1, 2024d).
The Brazilian government has created the National Committee for Integrated Fire Management to combat forest fires, as published in the Federal Official Gazette. The committee will be responsible for coordinating actions to detect and control fires, as well as establishing guidelines for training staff and conserving ecosystems. The measure comes in the context of a significant increase in fire outbreaks, especially in the Amazon and Cerrado (Agência Brasil, 2024).
These measures, however, seem insufficient to contain the damage. The negligence of the various spheres of government and the three branches of government, as well as the smoke, is also evident.
The smoke from fires, the drought and the heatwave affecting Brazil have their roots in human activities such as deforestation and inappropriate land use, which are closely connected (Clima Info, 2024), for example as Brazilian agribusiness, one of the country's main economic sectors. Brazil's large landowners are mainly responsible for forest fires and impunity in relation to environmental crimes is one of the main factors contributing to environmental degradation (MST, 2022: Fernandes,2024). It is worth remembering that these factors intensify the impact of climate change and worsen environmental conditions, ironically hitting the agricultural sector itself with their catastrophic effects.
Even in the face of Environment Minister Marina Silva's position that the federal government was doing its part (InfoMoney, 2024), a study shows that the Lula administration had low budget execution in the social and environmental areas in 2024. Despite commitments to the sustainable agenda and social programs, the resources earmarked for these areas were little used (Brasil de Fato, 2024).
In addition, Brazilian parliamentarians practically do not allocate budget amendments to the fight against fires, despite the seriousness of the environmental problem. Parliamentary amendments are an important tool for allocating resources, but few allocate funds for actions to prevent and control forest fires. The Amazon and Cerrado, regions vulnerable to fires, suffer from a lack of adequate funding. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of the fight against environmental disasters in the country (G1,2024e).
Faced with the pressure it has been under, the federal government said yesterday that it was preparing an environmental package to combat fires, which will be presented at the UN General Assembly in September 2024. The initiative includes measures to prevent and combat fires, as well as proposals for environmental recovery and sustainable development. The aim is to reinforce Brazil's commitment to the global climate agenda and show efforts to tackle the challenges of fires and deforestation, especially in the Amazon (CNN, 2024d).
Ruptura, as a civil society organization, will continue to follow the outcome of the issue and demand that governments, in their various spheres, act in a way that is more committed to the socio-environmental agenda and less hostage to sectors such as agribusiness.
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