A firefighter fights a fire in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, on the border with Bolivia, in September 2020. -
Rogerio Florentino / EFE / SIPA
Bolivia declared this Thursday a state of national disaster because of the fires which devastate the country and the surrounding regions.
The fires are fueled by severe drought in five of the country's nine departments, according to interim president Jeanine Áñez.
According to the Minister of Defense, the departments concerned are those of Santa Cruz, Beni (north-east), Pando (north), Chuquisaca (south-east) and Tarija (south).
The one in the capital, La Paz, is currently being assessed.
The state of national disaster allows the government to appeal for international aid.
2020 October: Fires continue + expand in Chiquitano region, Chaco region and Valleys of #Bolivia.
Crisis worsens in Guarayos, where an animal sanctuary is affected.
pic.twitter.com/oIVaGCbA9d
- Jhanisse Vaca Daza (@JhanisseVDaza) October 7, 2020
2.3 million hectares destroyed in 2020
"Emerging fires have gathered because of the high temperatures," said the Minister of Defense.
The official lamented that no rain is expected "in the next 10 to 15 days".
According to a report by the NGO Fondation des Amis de la Nature (FAN), the fires destroyed 2.3 million hectares of forests and pastures from January to the end of September.
In 2019, huge fires in the Bolivian Amazon devastated 6.4 million hectares, according to FAN.
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World
Bolivia
Disaster
Fire