novembro, 22 2023

By WWF-Brazil

With the extreme drought driven by the strong El Niño of 2023, forest fires broke records in the Pantanal. In the first 20 days of November, the biome has already had 3,957 fire outbreaks, around nine times higher than the average for the month in the last 25 years, which is 442 hot spots. The data are from the Queimadas Program, from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The fires were brought under control earlier this week.

Historically, forest fires in the Pantanal are concentrated between the months of August and October, with a peak in September. However, this year, the month of November had more hot spots than any other month, just in the moment a reduction in the number of fire outbreaks was expected.

One aspect that draws attention is that in 2023, until September, when 373 fire outbreaks were recorded, the number of forest fires was much lower than the historical averages in all months. In October, with the start of the extreme drought, there was a jump to 1,157 hot spots, a number very close to the historical average for the month (1,138 hot spots).

However, in November, fires skyrocketed. Last Friday alone, November 17th, 782 outbreaks were recorded, a number more than three times greater than the outbreaks recorded in the entire month of November last year (201 outbreaks). With around 4,000 more fires, the first 20 days of November have already seen more than two thirds of the 5,031 recorded in 2023 in the biome.

So far, fire has consumed more than 1.2 million hectares of the biome in November, triple the amount recorded in 2022, according to data from the Environmental Satellite Applications Laboratory (Lasa), at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

The three municipalities most affected by fire between November 1 and 20 were Poconé (Mato Grosso state), Corumbá (Mato Grosso do Sul state), and Barão de Melgaço (Mato Grosso state), accounting for more than 80% of all fire outbreaks.

The fire advanced through the Pantanal do Rio Negro State Park (Mato Grosso do Sul state), which had 109 fires in the first two weeks of November, and through the Encontro das Águas State Park (Mato Grosso state), which had 90 fire outbreaks. However, researcher Walfrido Tomás, from Embrapa Pantanal, announced on social media that the two biggest fires in November did not start in protected areas, but in private areas. According to him, NASA images show that the fire started outside the Pantanal do Rio Negro and Encontro das Águas parks, on October 1st and November 4th, respectively. The information was confirmed by the Mato Grosso do Sul State Fire Committee.

Large fires were recorded on the banks of the Transpantaneira highway, the main access route to the biome in Mato Grosso state, which connects Poconé, 104 km from Cuiabá, to Porto Jofre, on the border with Mato Grosso do Sul state.

The fires in the Pantanal caused the governments of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states to declare an environmental emergency. The president of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), Rodrigo Agostinho, went to Mato Grosso. On Wednesday, the 15th, accompanied by the acting governor, Otaviano Pivetta, he flew over the areas affected by the fires and was also in Poconé, one of the most affected areas.

2020 big wildfire: emergency action

In 2020, another extreme drought worsened by climate change accentuated the effects of the worst wildfires ever recorded in the history of the Pantanal, with the destruction of almost 30% of its entire vegetation cover. According to a study coordinated by Walfrido Tomás, from Embrapa, with the participation of several institutions and support from WWF-Brazil, at least 17 million vertebrate animals were killed directly by flames during the 2020 wildfires.
According to scientists, fire caused by drought is part of the natural dynamics of the biome, whose balance depends on the alternation between periods of flooding and drought. Species that thrive in the wet season have strategies that allow them to survive the dry season, quickly recovering lost space when the fires stop and the rains return.

But this natural regeneration cycle could be jeopardised if fires as intense as those in 2020 occur for several consecutive years - a very real risk, considering climate change. That's why WWF-Brazil began an emergency action in 2020 aimed at the formation and structuring of community fire brigades in the Pantanal, according to Osvaldo Barassi Gajardo, Conservation specialist at WWF-Brazil.

“In that context, we began to receive a lot of demand from local communities - riverside, extractive and indigenous - concerned about the arrival of fire in their neighbouring areas. They were not prepared to perform a first response and there was an urgent need to set up community fire brigades”, explained Gajardo.

Local demand

According to Gajardo, in conjunction with Ecoa, a local NGO that was involved in the formation of fire brigades, WWF-Brazil then implemented a strategy to support community brigades aimed at preventing and initially combating flames, in order to avoid for them to turn into large-scale wildfires.

“We fully trained and equipped 20 community fire brigades in different parts of the Pantanal. They received protective and fire-fighting equipment, in addition to training carried out in partnership with PrevFogo-Ibama instructors. Many of them are still active and are supporting the fight against the fires that worsened in November 2023,” said Gajardo.

However, Gajardo states that, despite the presence of the fire brigades, their actions are being limited by the lack of integration. A brigade integration plan was drawn up in 2022, but so far it has not been implemented.
"It is necessary for state governments, federal agencies, firefighters and other actors to begin to work together better in order to implement this plan, which would allow for a faster response. And above all, it would enhance the prevention role of the brigades - which is essential, because climate change is a reality."

Strategy in the Pantanal

According to Cyntia Cavalcante Santos, Conservation analyst at WWF-Brazil, all of the organisation's work in the Pantanal is focused on supporting local partners. “It is essential to give the leading role to those in the territory, in order to facilitate actions. Therefore, our priority is to bring local institutions and organisations closer together, prioritising the demands of those in the territory”, says Cyntia, who is a facilitator for the Pantanal Territory in the WWF-Brazil strategy.

The organisation also takes part in forums, working groups and other instances for discussing legislation and specific actions, such as the Mato Grosso do Sul State Fire Committee, in which WWF-Brazil is one of the representatives of civil society.

This action on several fronts is necessary, explains Cyntia, because the threats to the Pantanal are many: in addition to fire, there are land use transitions, with deforestation and conversion of the native landscape, erosion and sedimentation in river headwaters.

“Degradation is intense, especially in areas dedicated to agriculture, as livestock farming is a more traditional activity in the biome. This degradation extinguishes many springs and this reduces water capacity, making it difficult to capture and circulate water”, explains Cyntia.

According to her, in the Upper Paraguay River Basin, the strategy is divided into six main themes: emergency responses - which includes support for community fire brigades -, infrastructure, protected areas, species protection, restoration and legal framework. They all collaborate together to combat the various threats to the Pantanal. “These fronts are part of major lines of action, such as green economy, conservation, restoration and engaged society.”