Record-setting wildfires tearing through South America are likely to become the new normal unless the region makes dramatic investments in fire prevention and limits slash-and-burn agriculture in places like the Amazon, experts are cautioning.
Since May, blazes have ravaged forests and savannahs across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru as drought has created tinderbox-like conditions in many places. Even the world’s largest tropical wetland, the wildlife-rich Pantanal, has been smouldering for months.
“What we’re seeing is shocking and saddening,” says Juan Bello, the regional director and representative for Latin America and the Caribbean with UNEP. “But it’s not inevitable.”
Climate change, experts say, is drying out huge swaths of South America and leaving forests, wetlands and savannahs vulnerable to mega fires. The Amazon, for example, is experiencing its worst drought in at least 45 years. But by pouring money into fire prevention, including landscape planning, Bello says countries can reduce the chances of blazes.
Investments in climate information services, including modern early warning systems, can give communities advanced notice of potential blazes, helping them to prevent fires before they happen. These services also allow countries to optimize the use of their often-limited firefighting resources.
Nations can also restore ecosystems damaged by human intervention or previous fires. For example, channeling water back into wetlands can make infernos less likely. So can what is known as fire-smart landscaping, which includes spacing out trees and shrubs so they are less likely to transmit flames.
As well, countries can weave into legislation the key concepts of integrated fire management, a holistic approach for preventing large fires that can include the use of controlled burns. In this area, there are lessons that can be learned from Indigenous Peoples, who in many places have developed over generations land-management strategies that reduce the chances of wildfires.
“Sustainable land use is a cornerstone of preventing wildfires, especially in this new era of climatic upheaval that we’re entering,” says Bello.
The recent wildfires have been particularly devastating to the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland in the world and a key warehouse of planet-warming carbon. Stretching across three South American countries — Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay — the region supports millions of people and is home to a large concentration of rare wildlife, such as crocodiles, jaguars and the hyacinth macaw, the biggest parrot on the planet. Many of those animals are dying and others have been rescued after having their paws singed by fire.
A series of blazes in the Pantanal in 2020 left 17 million animals dead, according to one study, and experts are concerned the death toll from the latest fires could be equally grim.
The Pantanal has some 60 per cent less surface water than the historical average and has not experienced seasonal flooding in six years. Natural phenomena, including lightning strikes, can cause forest fires in conditions like that. But the vast majority of blazes in Brazil are the result of human activities, like the burning of trees to create pastures, says Rodrigo Agostinho, president of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources.
“Today, taking advantage of [climate change], invaders of public or demarcated lands are using fire instead of chainsaws,” he says.
In response to the worsening wildfire crisis, Brazil’s federal government has been bolstering firefighting efforts in the Amazon and Pantanal regions. Earlier this month, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree that raised fines for intentionally setting fires. Penalties can reach up to 10,000 Brazilian real or US$1,826 per hectare burned.
Alongside policing, Agostinho believes raising awareness about the dangers of forest fires to both human health and biodiversity is “essential”.
“Addressing this dire situation requires a collective effort from both the government and society,” he says.
Limiting the damage done from land conversion is expected to be a major focus of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) taking place in Cali, Colombia in October. Also on the agenda at COP16 is a review of the state of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a landmark pact designed to protect and restore the natural world. The agreement includes a target designed to make biodiversity more resilient to climate change by reducing the risks of disasters, such as the wildfires in South America, through nature-based solutions.
Those talks come at a crucial time for the world’s forests, wetlands and savannahs, say observers. Globally, the risk of extreme wildfires could increase 30 per cent by 2050 as result of climate change and what are known as land use changes, which include, slash-and-burn agriculture, found a 2022 report from UNEP.
The paper called for a “radical” change in how governments spend on wildfires. It recommended that two-thirds of all wild-fire related spending go towards planning, prevention and recovery. Right now, the majority of money is dedicated to supressing fires.
“Once fires erupt, they are difficult to contain,” says Bello. “Countries around the world, not just in South America, need to invest more in stopping fires before they start. It’s the only way we’re going to spare ourselves and wildlife from their often-deadly consequences.”
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
The planet is experiencing a dangerous decline in nature. One million species are threatened with extinction, soil health is declining and water sources are drying up. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, sets out global targets to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. It was adopted by world leaders in December 2022. To address the drivers of the nature crisis, UNEP is working with partners to take action in landscapes and seascapes, transform our food systems, and close the finance gap for nature.
