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BRAZIL-POLITICS-ENVIRONMENT,LEAD
Brazil’s army fights Amazon fires after hundreds of new blazes ignite
PORTO VELHO, Brazil, Aug 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Brazil on Sunday deployed
two Hercules C-130 aircraft to douse fires devouring parts of the Amazon
rainforest, as hundreds of new blazes were ignited ahead of nationwide
protests over the destruction.
Heavy smoke covered the city of Porto Velho in the northwestern state of
Rondonia where the defense ministry said the planes have started dumping
thousands of liters of water, amid a global uproar over the worst fires in
years.
Swathes of the remote region bordering Bolivia have been scorched by the
blazes, sending thick smoke billowing into the sky and increasing air
pollution across the world’s largest rainforest.
Experts say increased land clearing during the months-long dry season to
make way for crops or grazing has aggravated the problem this year.
“It gets worse every year — this year, the smoke has been really
serious,” Deliana Amorim, 46, told AFP in Porto Velho where half a million
people live.
At least seven states, including Rondonia, have requested the army’s
help in the Amazon, where more than 43,000 troops are based and available to
combat fires, officials said. The fires have triggered a global outcry and
are a major topic of concern at the G7 meeting in Biarritz in southern
France.
World leaders at the summit have agreed to help the countries affected
by the fires “as fast as possible,” French President Emmanuel Macron said
Sunday.
His remarks come amid an escalating war of words with his Brazilian
counterpart Jair Bolsonaro, who he has accused of lying over Brazil’s stance
on climate change.
Bolsonaro has denounced what he calls Macron’s “colonialist mentality.”
– Trade deal at risk –
The fires threaten to torpedo a huge trade agreement between the
European Union and South American countries, including Brazil, that took 20
years to negotiate.
Pope Francis on Sunday also voiced concern for the rainforest, which he
described as a “vital” lung for the planet.
The latest official figures show 79,513 forest fires have been recorded
in Brazil this year, the highest number of any year since 2013.
More than half of the fires are in the massive Amazon basin, where more
than 20 million people live. Some 1,130 new fires were ignited between Friday
and Saturday, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research
(INPE).
The new data come as protesters plan to take to the streets across
Brazil on Sunday, after thousands held demonstrations in the country and in
Europe on Friday.
BSS/AFP/BZC/2000HRS