Despite the Law and Order Guarantee operation that has been in the Amazon region since May, fires are beginning to show signs that they could spike this August, with some regions registering an exponential growth in the number of fire at the turn of the month.
Data from the wildfire bulletin issued by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) show that, when comparing the first three days of August with the three days of August, the number of fire hotspots increased by 5,72% nationwide, reaching 4,279.
In the state of Amazonas, where the past few days have seen a rapid increase in wildfires between the cities of Apuí and Novo Aripuanã, the number of fires rose from just 5 in early July to 936 in early August—an increase of 18.620%. In Pará, the increase was 1.774%, reaching 1,162 hotspots; in Acre, it was 1.564%, with 183 fire hotspots.
As the coordinator of Inpe's Wildfire Program, researcher Alfredo Setzer warns that comparing a period of just three days may not reflect the behavior for the rest of the month, but it confirms a significant growth, especially considering that August is when fires in the Legal Amazon effectively start to increase.
“Anyway, the numbers are very high. More than a thousand hotspots in a single day is certainly significant. Southern Pará and southern Amazonas have high fire activity, major deforestation, and major fires,” Setzer told Reuters.
INPE data shows that the number of fire outbreaks in the Amazon in July was already above the historical average, though not by much, with 6,803 spots detected by satellites—the average is 6,243.
The surge is expected to begin as early as August. According to the researcher, August, September, and October are typically the worst months for wildfires in the region. In 2019, after a surge of more than 80% in early August and a period of reluctance to acknowledge the figures, the government issued a GLO to combat the wildfires, which led to a considerable reduction in October.
This year, however, the GLO has already been in action since May, but it has not had a significant effect, despite Vice President Hamilton Mourão, who is also coordinator of the Amazon Council, having bet that the military's action would have an effect against fires, even if it were late to prevent the growth of deforestation this year.
“There is actually burning going on above what normally happens at this time of year. They are not under control, or this wouldn't be happening. All the necessary information to control them is right there, for detection and control to be carried out,” said Setzer.
Two factors are pointed out as the main ones to prevent wildfires: the weather, which in wetter years prevents the spread of fire, and enforcement.
Data from 2019 show that where the GLO operated forcefully, such as Amazonas and Pará, there was a drop in fires in October. Meanwhile, in Acre, where the GLO practically did not reach, fire hotspots continued to increase.
“These recent images are proof that farmers are not taking this GLO seriously. For what reason, I don't know. But it's an indication that there is no control,” stated the researcher. “So far there are no signs of different movement. Everything is on average, there is nothing striking to the point of reducing detections.”
Year-to-date, through early August, the number of wildfires had increased by only 5% nationwide compared with the same period last year. In Amazonas and Pará, however, the number rose by more than 50%.
Wildfires are usually an indicator of the increase in deforested areas in the country. In various regions, such as the Pantanal—which is suffering from a massive increase in fires this year—fires are used to prepare land for crops or pasture. In the Amazon, this also happens, but it also conceals the initiative of illegal deforesters to burn what is left of the native forest after the removal of trees with commercial value.
Burning the remaining logs is the final step to turn what is left of the forest into pasture.
Philip Fearnside, from the Nature Conservation Expert Network and a researcher at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (Inpa), explains that deforestation makes it easier for areas that are still forests to also catch fire, amplifying the damage.
“When fire enters the forest, the damage is enormous, especially in drier years. Huge areas of forest are weakened by human action, even with legalized management, because it leaves dry wood in the forest and increases the opening in the tree canopy. This facilitates the fire,” he explained.
Fearnside is also skeptical about the operations of the GLO.
“GLO, for several reasons, has no effect. It is inefficient compared to Ibama, which has an entire system to know which locations to prioritize and, with the same effort and the same expense, achieves a better result, he says.
Furthermore, he states, the government's rhetoric does not help.
“People there don't get their news from major newspapers, they get information via WhatsApp. And it seems like anything goes there,” she states.
source:
EARTH
