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The fires continue in the Amazon, and it is not only Brazil that burns but also Bolivia, which has been trying for several weeks to cope with the disaster. Thousands of square kilometers of forest have already gone up in smoke, and the fires do not seem to be calming down. The country has just called in international aid.
With our correspondent in La Paz , Alice Campaignolle
The winds are still strong in the east and north of Bolivia, and the fires that the authorities thought were mastered seem to have revived. President Evo Morales said a few days ago that the fires were "under control". Since then they have left again and ravaged thousands of km2 of tropical forests.
In the face of disaster, the Bolivian government has called on the world's largest water bomber, the Supertanker, which has been operating for four days now. Because Bolivia has few means on the spot, some helicopters, small planes, and volunteers armed with buckets of water. But today the president has announced that he is ready to receive international aid.
" I would like to welcome the phone calls from the President of Paraguay, the Chilean President and the Spanish authorities, " said Evo Morales. Any cooperation is welcome. I would also like to announce that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed an alliance to protect biodiversity. Thank you for this proposal. "
And to prevent even greater fires, the technique of slash-and-burn agriculture has just been banned. It is certainly the cause of the disaster, and it is, in the Amazon a very common practice. This is 1 million hectares of forest that has already gone up in smoke in a few weeks in Bolivia, almost the equivalent of the area of Lebanon.