Fires degrade 9 percent of Pantanal wetlands over five years

New data released by monitoring platform MapBiomas reveals that fires over the last five years have degraded around 9 percent of the Pantanal wetlands.

Eduardo Rosa, an agricultural engineer with MapBiomas, stated that the suppression of native vegetation to make way for agricultural and livestock expansion undermines soi protection and disrupts the distribution of water and sediments. 

Additionally, dams and hydroelectric plants alter natural water flows, affecting both the quantity and quality of water reaching plains. A week ago, MapBiomas showed that the Pantanal has lost 80 percent of its water surface area since 1985, the largest proportional water loss of any biome.

“Climatic issues related to precipitation and temperature regulate droughts and floods. The increase in dry periods has hampered the resilience of the Pantanal ecosystem”, Mr. Rosa said.

Nationwide, the MapBiomas platform indicates that between 1986 and 2021, about 11 to 25 percent of native vegetation was susceptible to degradation. This amounts to an area ranging from 60.3 million hectares (nearly the size of Texas) to 135 million hectares (close to 80 percent of Alaska).

As The Brazilian Report has shown, the Pantanal is facing unprecedented wildfire devastation, threatening biodiversity, local communities, and future generations.

Environmental degradation is coinciding with a national strike by environmental workers. On Thursday, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice issued an injunction requiring these agencies to maintain 100 percent staffing for activities such as environmental licensing, managing conservation areas, rescuing endangered animals, and preventing forest fires. Labor unions face fines of BRL 200,000 (USD 36,300) for every day they fail to comply with the ruling.

Also on Thursday, Federal Police announced an investigation into recent fires in the Pantanal, suspecting some were set intentionally. Officers and helicopters have been dispatched to the affected regions in Mato Grosso do Sul state.

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