- Nearly 600,000 hectares of land in Bolivia were burned in wildfires, most of which were triggered deliberately.
- Seven protected areas were affected.
- A nature reserve as large as Belgium is one of the hardest-hit areas.
Authorities said that most of the wildfires started intentionally, and this year they have burned nearly 600,000 hectares of land in eastern Bolivia.
On Monday night, there were 20 fires in Santa Cruz State, affecting seven protected areas.
The government stated that 200,000 hectares of land were burned in just two days.
Most of the fires occurred in the forests of Chiquitania, which lies between the Amazon River in the north, the Caco Plain in the south, and the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland in the southeast.
The Saint Matias Nature Reserve-a national park the size of Belgium-is one of the hardest-hit areas.
Volunteer firefighters and rangers have been digging trenches to try to stop the fire from spreading.
The government has deployed about 1,800 military personnel to provide assistance, and two helicopters will also participate.
The Deputy Minister of Civil Defense Juan Carlos Calvimontes stated that despite the lack of resources to extinguish wildfires, Bolivia cannot seek help from neighboring countries unless local and regional authorities declare a “disaster”.
A disaster can only be declared after the government has exhausted its budget for fighting wildfires.
Calvi Montes said the law “needs to change.”
The government stated that most of the fires were caused deliberately.
Environmentalists accused former left-wing President Evo Morales (Evo Morales) of enacting laws, which over the years encouraged the burning of forests and pastures to expand agricultural production.
This practice is legal in Bolivia, which covers an area of 20 hectares between May and July (after the end of the rainy season).
However, penalties for illegal fires can be very lenient, with a fine of only $1 per hectare burned.
However, for large-scale wildfires, the perpetrators can be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
