(ANSA) – SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, 20 AUGUST – In the last four days, the number of forest areas affected by fires in the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz has increased from 1,083,638 to 1,975,929 hectares, according to the latest report from the Authority for Social Surveillance and Control of Forests and Territory (ABT) released daily by the local government.
Since Friday, August 16, fires have destroyed a total of 892,291 hectares. The most affected region is Chiquitania, a plain covered in tropical forest on the border with the Brazilian Amazon and the Paraguayan Chaco, twice the size of Lombardy. The devastation is caused by the out-of-control fires of the so-called ‘chaqueos’, fires organized by farmers to make room for livestock and new plantings. 7,229 people are working to put out the flames. The areas of San Ignacio de Velasco, San Matías, Santa Ana and Concepción are in the greatest emergency situation. Throughout the region, including the capital Santa Cruz, those suffering from the worsening air quality are especially the most vulnerable groups of the population: children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with respiratory diseases. (ANSA).
2024-08-21 05:23:26