Amazon rainforest fires – Green groups deliberately started thousands of devastating blazes claims Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro
BRAZIL’S president has accused environmental groups of deliberately starting some of the thousands Amazon rainforest fires.
Jair Bolsonaro, 64, claims conservationists want to make him look bad after they blasted him for encouraging loggers and farmers to clear the jungle for cattle ranching.
The agency said its satellite data had detected 74,155 fires since January, an 84 per cent increase over the same period of 2018.
It added that most fires were in the Amazon region.
The head of INPE was sacked by Bolsonaro earlier this month over a row about the figures, with the President saying it tarnished Brazil’s reputation.
Wildfires in the country are thought to often occur in the dry season but conservationists have also pointed to fires started deliberately in efforts to illegally deforest the land so they can be developed economically.
Ricardo Mello, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Amazon Programme, said the fires were "a consequence of the increase in deforestation seen in recent figures".
Local reports say there was a sharp spike in deforestation in July which was then followed up by extensive burning in August.
Some farmers are said to have organised “fire days” in a bid to take advantage of weaker legislation by the authorities.
The record number of fires were responsible for causing a daytime blackout in Sao Paulo, the country’s largest city, on Monday.
Thick smoke plunged the city into darkness at around 3pm for around an hour.
BLACKOUT IN SAO PAULO
Strong winds carried thick plumes of smoke more than 1,700 miles to the city which met cold, humid air from the coast, experts said, which triggered the blackout.
Wildfires in the country are thought to often occur in the dry season but conservationists have also pointed to fires started deliberately in efforts to illegally deforest the land for cattle ranching.
Bolsonaro, who came to power on January 1, this year, has repeatedly attacked environmental groups, saying they are obstacles in his quest to develop the country's full economic potential, including in protected areas.
Bolsonaro and Environment Minister Ricardo Salles are both close to the powerful rural caucus in Congress and have been urging more development and economic opportunities in the Amazon region, which they consider overly protected by current legislation.
The government is also facing international pressure to protect the vast rainforest from illegal logging or mining activities.
The Amazon is often referred to as the lungs of our planet because trees in the giant river basin produce around a fifth of the oxygen we breathe.
The jungle is also a major absorber of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Citing Brazil's apparent lack of commitment to fighting deforestation, Germany and Norway have decided to withhold more than $60 million in funds earmarked for sustainability projects in Brazil.
French and German leaders have also threatened not to ratify a trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur countries to pressure Brazil into complying with its environmental pledges within the Paris Climate Agreement.
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