Bolivia is facing its worst fire season in more than two decades, threatening unique ecosystems including the Chiquitano dry forest and prompting the government to declare a national disaster. The forest is one of the largest and most intact tropical dry forests in the world.
President Luis Arce signed the declaration in Santa Cruz, the eastern city worst affected by the fires, explaining that “the disaster declaration is intended to activate international aid”. On October 6, the president also admitted that the country was suffering from “one of the greatest natural disasters”. As of September 30, 10.125 million hectares had been burned, according to a report released by the Tierra Foundation, a Bolivian organization dedicated to research and promotion of rural development. This number exceeds the previous record of approximately 5.3 million hectares burned in 2019.
Critics say the government's lack of preventive measures has worsened living conditions for thousands of Bolivians, especially poor air quality. They believe the government's response was not only slow but also exacerbated the crisis.
“The response from the national government has been terrible. This is the fifth year that fires have affected the same area of the country, but strict measures have not yet been taken against the arsonists.” Jhanisse, founder of Ríos de Pie, a non-violent movement dedicated to protecting fires Vaca Daza said. human rights.
Vaca Daza and others argue that political motivations related to the upcoming elections hinder timely action and raise concerns about hidden interests, such as agriculture, behind deforestation. Poor enforcement of environmental laws and agricultural expansion have been linked to the destruction of important ecosystems. Questions also remain about the government's ability to enforce mandated incineration regulations.
Waqa Daza explained that the national, local and municipal governments have yet to achieve better coordination and implement new systems or strategies to respond to fires more effectively.
The fires, now three months old, mainly affect the areas of Santa Cruz and Beni, where agricultural and livestock borders have expanded in recent years.
Santa Cruz is located in eastern Bolivia. It is the largest province in the country and one of the most economically developed regions. Its capital, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, is Bolivia's largest city. North of Santa Cruz is the province of Beni, a less populated but biodiverse region known for its large expanses of jungle and plains.
More than 10 million acres of land lost
From the beginning of 2024 to mid-September, more than 29,000 fire alarms were registered in the country, 90% of which were concentrated since July 1. About 70% of these fires affect primary forests, important ecosystems that help maintain biodiversity, support the livelihoods of local communities and play a key role in carbon storage and sequestration. The term “carbon sequestration” refers to the process by which ecosystems such as forests absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it as carbon in their biomass (trunks, branches, leaves and roots) and on their plants. This process is crucial to mitigating climate change because it reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
Fire causes environmental pollution and interrupts education
The Ministry of Education recommended that all schools in the cities of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and La Paz switch to virtual classes. According to UNICEF, 1,289 schools have been affected by wildfire smoke so far.
Experts say the compounding effects of climate change are seriously exacerbating the crisis, with consequences consistent with what scientists warn may become the norm. “This is exactly what all climate models have predicted for 20 years,” Steve Schwartzman, senior director of forest policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, a New York-based nonprofit, told Grist America. Erika De Berenguer Cesar, a rainforest ecologist at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, worries that if drastic measures are not taken, 2024 may one day be remembered as typical One year. “It's going to get worse.”
Bolivia is not the only country affected
South America is facing devastating fires that are reaching unprecedented levels, affecting even normally humid ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest. High temperatures and persistent drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon that ended this year, coupled with deforestation and the long-term effects of climate change, have caused fires to spread across millions of hectares and affect multiple countries.
A record 346,112 fires have broken out in 13 South American countries so far this year, according to satellite data analyzed by INPE, a Brazilian space research agency. All that smoke was suffocating large swaths of the continent, so much so that NASA satellites captured the smoke from a million miles away.
According to information published on the INFOBAE portal, the fire phenomenon involves multiple actors and cannot be attributed to a single sector, whether agricultural, economic or social. Most forest fires are concentrated in areas along the expanding agricultural frontier where land tenure conflicts and disputes exist. Additionally, the fires coincide with seasons of drought and heat associated with human-caused climate change.
Political analyst and environmentalist Gabriela Kesseberg Davalos also criticized the government's response: “The response of the Bolivian government has been inadequate and slow. Despite the fact that this year it has been faced with threats from the streets, activists, some leading members of the opposition and In addition to the intense pressure from the media that even reached La Paz, the reaction was mainly due to the year before the elections and internal divisions.
Keserberg Dávalos said a presidential election in 2025 would influence how the government handles the fires.
The current president represents the Movement for Socialism, a left-wing party led by former Bolivian President Evo Morales. “The repeal of 'arson laws', so-called because they encouraged arson or left it unpunished, has been achieved with international aid. But the social dimension of the mentality is crucial to nature There is a lack of change. Unfortunately, these measures will have no immediate impact and the long-term consequences for burned ecosystems and affected communities are heartbreaking,” the environmentalist added.
In Bolivia, certain laws and policies encourage the use of fire and allow burning with impunity. For example, the 2012 Agriculture and Forestry Law encourages agricultural expansion and often leads to the practice of clearing and burning vegetation. The law states that “the conversion of forest land into agricultural land is considered a priority for economic development” (Law No. 337 of 2012). Furthermore, Supreme Decree No. 1048 facilitates the occupation of public lands for agricultural activities, allowing farmers to burn without proper supervision. Insufficient sanctions for illegal burning and land ownership violations also contribute to impunity, as they allow many to act without consequences.
Deliberate nature of forest loss?
One of the strongest criticisms of Bolivia's forest fires is that there may be hidden interests behind deforestation. Activists and experts say that in addition to environmental factors, there may be political and economic reasons behind forest destruction.
“The Amazon is not burning because it wants to burn, but they are burning it. They are destroying one of the most important biomes on the planet,” said Patricia, an indigenous activist for the Salayacuchichihua people of Ecuador. Patricia Gualinga said this at a press conference held in the framework of the Climate Week in New York in the last week of September.
Mariel Cabero, an environmental justice expert, noted in an article published on the Dutch National Council's website that the Bolivian government's policies have contributed to the ongoing forest fires, particularly in the Chiquitano Dry Forest. significant role. Policies that promote agricultural expansion, including clearing land for soy, corn and livestock farming, have been major drivers of deforestation. These policies often prioritize economic growth over environmental protection, leading to large-scale land clearing through practices such as slash-and-burn agriculture. Poor enforcement of deforestation laws and government policy incentives for land-use change (such as support for biofuel production) encourages agribusiness to expand into forested areas, often without adequate environmental safeguards.
“As an activist, I dare to denounce that forests are lost both to expand agricultural boundaries and to allow groups resettled by the government to boost their votes and increase their presence in agricultural areas that have traditionally been opposed to the central government. Apart from that In addition, there are illegal interests such as drug trafficking and wildlife trafficking, and firefighters and volunteers are attacked by drug traffickers,” Waqa Daza said.
The debate over laws regulating controlled burning has fueled criticism of their effectiveness in protecting forested areas. Although these legislations are intended to prevent out-of-control fires, many experts question their implementation and the state's ability to properly enforce them. In this regard, Waqa Dasa pointed out: “These laws talk about controlled burning, but the state does not have the ability to control burning, which is shown by its slow and insufficient response capacity. Since 2019, millions of people have burned every year The region suffered and it was obvious.
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