Hundreds of new fires in Brazil as outrage over Amazon grows
HUNDREDS of new fires are raging in the Amazon ra inforest i n Bra zil, officia l data showed on Saturday, as thousands of troops were made available to help fight t he worst bla zes in years follow ing a globa l outcr y.
Multiple fires billow ing huge plumes of smoke into t he air were seen across a vast area of t he nort hwestern state of Rondonia on Friday when AFP journalists flew over the area.
Severa l residents in t he capita l, Porto Velho, said on Saturday that what appeared to be light clouds hanging over t he cit y of half a million people was smoke from t he bla zes that had scorched swaths of land and left tree trunks smoldering on the ground.
“I’m ver y worried because of the env ironment and health. I have a daughter with respirator y problems and she suffers more because of the fires,” Delmara Conceicao Silva said.
The fires in the world’s largest rainforest have triggered a global uproar, and are a major topic of concern at the G7 meeting in Biarritz in southern France.
Officia l figures show 78,383 forest fires have been recorded in Brazil t his year, t he highest number of any year since 2013. Experts say t he clearing of land during the monthslong dr y season to make way for crops or gra zing has aggravated the problem.
More than half of the fires are in the massive Amazon basin, where more than 20 million people live. Some 1,663 new fires were ignited between Thursday and Friday, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
The new data came a day after Bolsonaro authorised the deployment of the military to fight the fires and crackdown on criminal activity.
Seven states, including Rondonia, have requested the army’s help in the Amazon, where more than 43,000 troops are based and available to combat fires, officials said. Firefighters and planes are also being deployed.
Six aircraft, including two Hercules
C-130s equipped to carry 12,000 litres of water each, have been sent to Rondonia to fight the fires. They were expected to be joined by 30 firefighters on Sunday.
‘Help is welcome’
US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, both attending the G7 summit, have offered their countries’ assistance in fighting the fires.
“Any help is welcome in respect to the fires,” Brazil’s Defence Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva told reporters on Saturday.
The blazes have stirred outrage globally, with thousands of people protesting in Brazil and Europe on Friday.
Last week, Bolsonaro, whose antienv ironment rhetoric since coming to power in Januar y has been blamed for harming the Amazon and indigenous tribes, accused non-governmental organisations of deliberately starting t he fires af ter t heir f unding was cut.
The growing crisis threatens to torpedo a blockbuster trade deal between the EU and South American countries, including Brazil, that took 20 years to negotiate.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken the lead in pressing his Brazilian counterpart over the fires, had earlier accused Bolsonaro of lying to him about Brazil’s stance on climate change.
In an esca lating war of words between the t wo leaders, Bolsonaro denounced what he calls Macron’s “colonia list mentalit y”.
Environmental specialists say the fires are coming amid increasing deforestation in the Amazon region, which last month took place at a rate four times that of the same month last year, according to data from INPE.
Bolsonaro has prev iously attacked t he institute, describing its data as lies and engineering t he sack ing of its head.
On Friday, he insisted that the fires should not be used as an excuse to punish Brazil.
“There are forest fires all over the world, and this cannot be used as a pretext for possible international sanctions,” Bolsonaro said.
Brazil’s powerful agriculture sector – which strongly supports Bolsonaro – has expressed concerns over the president’s rhetoric, fearing boycotts of their products in key markets.
In an editorial on Saturday, the respected Folha de S.Paulo newspaper warned that Bolsonaro’s “bravado” had worsened the crisis caused by accelerating deforestation.
“The damage to [Brazil’s] image is done, and it could have important trade repercussions,” it said.
“Nationalistic bravado will not win the game this time.”