Regional authorities in Brazil declared a state of emergency on Monday as the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands, faces “out-of-control fires,” according to a decree.
The wave of fires ahead of the peak of the dry season has raised alarm in the Pantanal, which stretches to Bolivia and Paraguay and is home to a rich array of wildlife, including the world’s highest density of jaguars.
A six-month state of emergency was declared by the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, home to much of Brazil’s wetlands.
Experts say the fires are the result of a severe drought and deliberate fires set to expand farmland into forests that are spiraling out of control.
According to environmental satellite data from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 627,000 hectares of the Pantanal have burned since the beginning of the year.
The Pantanal, a region slightly larger than England, had its worst year for fires in 2020, when 30 percent of wetlands were affected.
So far this year there are 33 percent more fires than in the same period in 2020.
“Does this mean the Pantanal will burn more than in 2020? Not necessarily, but it will depend directly on the authorities who will have to mobilize maximum resources to prevent a tragedy like we saw in 2020,” says Gustavo Figueiroa, director of SOS Pantanal. NGO, said in a video on Instagram.
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