PT administration states that, in 2024, the biome will experience one of the “worst situations ever seen” due to fires and drought
The Minister of Planning, Simone Tebetsaid this Monday (June 24, 2024) that the federal government will pass on “the amount that is necessary” to Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul to reduce the impacts of fires in the Pantanal. In recent months, municipalities in both states have declared an emergency due to the fire.
The statement was given to journalists at the end of the 2nd meeting of the situation room created on June 14 to define preliminary actions that reduce the impact on local populations in different regions of the country in cases of severe droughts. Although the group was created to deal with the problem in all biomes, the initial focus will be on actions for the Pantanal and the Amazon.
According to the minister, state governments have not yet made requests for extraordinary resources. Ministries also need to present their budgetary demands for fighting fires. If they are done, the economic team intends to deliberate at the next meeting of the JEO (Budget Execution Board), scheduled for Wednesday (June 26, 2024).
Although the total amounts are not known, Tebet stated that the amount to be allocated to the 2 States will be “infinitely smaller” than what was destined for the reconstruction of Rio Grande do Sul.
The Ministry of the Environment has already allocated R$100 million to combat fires in the Pantanal.
ENVIRONMENT
The Minister of the Environment, Marina Silvastated that the Pantanal is experiencing one of the “worst situations ever seen” and that most of the current fires are caused by human action, many of which are criminal.
According to her, there is no strong incidence of lightning at this time of year that could start a fire spontaneously and controlled burning to clear pastures is prohibited. The minister asked for awareness on the part of the population.
Marina Silva stated that the region is experiencing the worst drought in the last 70 years. She also listed 2 other problems that contribute to the increase in fires in the region.
“The Ministry of the Environment, with all sectors of the government, has planned for action, but it is good for us to know that there is a combination of 3 phenomena: the issue of climate change, ‘El Niño’ and ‘La Niña’ without an interstice that we had before, and the criminal processes of setting fires. Some of them we already know exist and are being proven. AND [também] a practice of making fires from pasture renewal. […] The municipalities where the most deforestation are where there are the most fires“, he said.
GOVERNMENT DEFENDS COMBAT ACTIONS
Marina denied that the federal government had been lenient in defining prior actions to combat the fires in the Pantanal. According to her, the Ministry of the Environment had been preparing since the end of 2023.
“The Ministry of the Environment has been working intensely since October last year, planning actions. So much so that, even though there were actions in anticipation of what was supposed to start in August, we are already operating in full action conditions and we already have a crisis room set up“, he said.
The minister stated that one of her ministry’s early actions was to have declared an emergency situation in relation to the fire in the Pantanal in May to facilitate the hiring of firefighters. Marina also demanded that the Senate urgently approve the project that establishes the National Policy for Integrated Fire Management, which has already been approved by the Chamber.
A delegation of ministers will travel to Corumbá (MS) on Friday (June 28) for a meeting with the governors of the Pantanal and Amazon states. The objective is to discuss which logistics and fire-fighting actions can still be carried out and what the needs of local administrations are.
Secom (Presidency’s Social Communication Secretariat) should also carry out an advertising campaign focused on Pantanal radio stations with information on fire prevention and awareness.
“Unfortunately, the phenomenon is incomparably greater than the human capacity to combat these processes. It’s not just the government that has to prepare for these phenomena, it’s society as a whole. At this point it is essential to stop using fire for anything”, said Marina.
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