Categories: interviews

Rainfall Becomes ‘Only Hope’ As Brazil’s Wetlands Burn

Firefighters from the Mato Grosso State Department work to put out a wild fire in the Porto Jofre region in the wetlands of the Pantanal near the Transpantaneira park road in Mato Grosso state, Brazil, on September 14, 2020. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP)

 

Lieutenant Silva’s face is grim as he watches his firefighters try — and fail — to control one of the thousands of wildfires ravaging Brazil’s Pantanal, the world’s biggest tropical wetlands.

“It needs to rain. We’ve got low moisture, intense heat. With that combination, rain is our only hope,” says Silva, even as new flames break out at the spot his team of six firefighters is trying to douse on the grounds of an ecotourism hotel in the northern Pantanal.

Even when the fire looks to be out, embers continue burning underground, feeding on layers of dry leaves that have accumulated amid the region’s worst drought in nearly five decades.

The firefighters advance about 60 meters (yards) into a dense patch of charred scrubland, but the hoses connected to their truck can reach no farther.

One starts using a leaf blower to clear away the dead vegetation, which momentarily extinguishes the flames on the surface.

But the slightest gust of wind is enough to reignite them.

Silva decides to retreat and change tactics: better to create a fire break by soaking the ground around the truck in water.

 

Firefighters from the Mato Grosso State Department work to put out a wild fire in the Porto Jofre region in the wetlands of the Pantanal near the Transpantaneira park road in Mato Grosso state, Brazil, on September 14, 2020.(Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP)

 

The firefighters hope that will prevent the flames from reaching the other side, where there is a still intact hill of native vegetation inhabited by jaguars.

The Pantanal sits at the southern edge of the Amazon rainforest, stretching from Brazil into Bolivia and Paraguay.

The region is known for its lush landscapes and biodiversity.

But this year, some 23,500 square kilometers (9,000 square miles) of the wetlands have gone up in smoke — nearly 12 percent of the Pantanal.

Helped by local volunteers, firefighters are racing to control the flames before they destroy the area’s hotels and numerous wooden bridges, essential infrastructure for getting in and out of a region normally covered in water this time of year.

Hotel worker Antonio da Silva is one of the volunteers helping safeguard the bridges, wearing a cowboy hat and face mask.

“I’m from this region, I’ve lived in the Pantanal for 60 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he says

AFP

Emmanuel Egobiambu

Disqus Comments Loading...
Share
Published by
Emmanuel Egobiambu

Recent Posts

Do Not Denigrate Nigeria In Your Sermons, Tinubu Appeals To Religious Leaders

He urged the leaders to be more constructive in their criticism of those in elective…

3 hours ago

Soldiers’ Death: Wanted Delta Monarch Turns Self In

Before he turned himself in to the police, the monarch spoke to journalists, insisting on…

4 hours ago

45 Killed As Bus Plunges Off South Africa Bridge

The vehicle had been heading from neighbouring Botswana to Moria in the north of the…

5 hours ago

CBN Pegs Minimum Capital Base For Banks At ₦500bn 

The apex bank said the new minimum capital base for commercial banks with national authorisation…

6 hours ago

Soldiers’ Killing Oil-Related, DSS Should Lead Probe — Urhobo Leader

The Urhobo leader called for an independent probe into the circumstances that led to the…

6 hours ago

Tyrants Won’t Become Leaders In Parliamentary Democracy — Utomi 

The thought leader noted that thriving democracies in the world practice parliamentary democracy.

7 hours ago