The Bolivian government was forced this Monday to declare “national disaster” the devastation caused by forest fires who have devastated in recent weeks million hectares in Amazonia and Chiquitania of the Andean country.
The decision was communicated by the Minister of the Presidency of Bolivia, María Nela Prada, after a meeting with the president. Luis Arcé and several of his ministers to the local authorities of department of Santa Cruzepicenter of forest fires, where they have already burned more than seven million hectares.
With this declaration, which various local authorities have been demanding for weeks in Arce, Bolivia opens itself to receiving more international support to contain the environmental crisis, the worst recorded since 2019.
only in Holy Cross More than seven million hectares have been devoured by fires so far this year. To get an idea of the scale of the disaster, this figure, in this region alone, exceeds more than 5.3 million hectares consumed by fires nationally in 2019, which was the worst year with the highest number of fires in the country so far.
Beyond Santa Cruz, the fire also affected other cities such as Beni, Pando, Cochabamba, and La Paz.
One of the most affected regions is Chiquitaniaa transition zone between the Chaco and the Amazon with natural and agricultural spaces and which also hosts the Jesuit missions declared cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
Forest fires are a recurring problem in Bolivia at this time of year, as many of them are caused by what is called “eachos”Controlled burning to allow planting or grazing of land.
Furthermore, what has worsened the forest fires this year in Bolivia is the persistence drought which cross several forest areas, despite some isolated rains which gave respite in several of the affected areas.
From emergency to national catastrophe
Earlier this month, the Bolivian government declared the “national emergency” To facilitate internal coordination and the arrival of international aid to fight the fire, an “indefinite environmental pause” was also established to prevent its spread.
Here fire fightingthe country received support from countries like Spain, Brazil, Chile, France, Canada and Venezuela, among others, who sent firefighters, experts, planes and equipment.
The decree declaring this Monday a national tragedy establishes that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Planning will “manage and administer international cooperation to deal with the disaster”, allow “adjustments” to the firefighting budget and promote “a disaster recovery plan.
Until now, Arce has refused to declare it despite pressure from different leaders of the regions and provinces concerned. Even the former Bolivian president Evo Morales, reported last Sunday that it was taking time due to Arce’s reluctance to “invest” in resources to deal with the situation.
