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A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 8 November 2019
Biggest tropical wetlands ravaged by fires in Brazil

By ANNA JEAN KAISER much faster this year. The
Associated Press Paraguay River, one of the
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Fires region's main fluvial veins, is
in Brazil's Pantanal wetlands at a 20-year low. "Climate
have ripped through the change is here," he said.
biodiverse region, consum- With little precipitation, high
ing an area the size of Lon- temperatures, low humidity
don in just the past 10 days, and strong winds, fires are
burning some animals alive spreading fast through the
and sending others fleeing. low vegetation, authorities
The inferno in the world's say.
largest tropical wetlands is The Mato Grosso do Sul
the latest environmental di- state government said in a
saster facing Brazil, coming press release that the fires
after a mysterious oil spill are "of a proportion never-
that is afflicting beaches in before registered" and that
the northeast and August the causes were both the
fires that raged in the Ama- dry conditions and "crimi-
zon region. nal activity."
The Pantanal, which Firefighters say the cause
sprawls over parts of Brazil, is likely local people set-
Bolivia and Paraguay, is a ting fires to clear land of
popular ecotourism des- vegetation, a practice also
tination considered one In this May 18, 2017 file photo, Joao Aquino Pereira, right, talks with fellow cowboy Rene Almeida blamed for many of the
of the best places to see at dawn in Corumba, in the Pantanal wetlands of Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. Amazon fires. Such burn-
wildlife in South America. Associated Press ing is particularly common
During the wet season, riv- seen in recent days," Júlio been seen flying about nicipality in Mato Grosso do among cattle ranchers,
ers overflow their banks Cesar Sampaio, chief of aimlessly. Sul state. Corumba has had who use fire rather than
and make most of the re- WWF Brasil's Cerrado Pan- Between January and about twice as many fires costly equipment to pre-
gion accessible only by tanal program, said by November, the area had as the worst-affected mu- pare pastures.
boat and plane. In the dry phone. "Only rain will de- 516% more fires than the nicipalities in the Amazon. Fires in the Pantanal this
season, wildlife enthusiasts crease the risk of fire." same period last year, ac- "There is no precedent for year have been overshad-
flock to see jaguars loung- Rescue efforts have so cording to data from Brazil's a fire of this scale," said An- owed by the months-long
ing on riverbanks, as well as far found burned remains National Institute of Space gelo Rabelo, president of period of blazes seen in
macaws, giant river otters of caimans, iguanas and Research. the Instituto Homem Pan- the Amazon region. The
and caiman. snakes. SOS Pantanal, a While there have been taneiro, an environmental governor of Mato Grosso
But this year's dry season local group, reported that more fires in the Amazon, group based in Corumba. do Sul declared a state of
has extended much longer hyacinth macaws, a vul- they have been dispersed Fires in the Pantanal this emergency on Sept. 11 af-
than usual. nerable species, lost much across an area roughly half time of year are abnormal ter over 10,000 square kilo-
"Any spark in this area these of their primary food source the size of the United States. because heavy rains usu- meters (nearly 3,900 square
days of high temperatures as coconut and palm trees The blazes in the Pantanal, ally start in October. Ra- miles) burned in the previ-
and very low humidity will went up in flames, and the by contrast, are concen- belo said waters in the riv- ous five weeks in the state's
start fires like those we've blue-and-yellow birds have trated in Corumba, a mu- ers and wetlands drained portion of the Amazon.q
Colombia defense minister quits amid firestorm over deaths

a military operation against minors had been killed in a just from Colombians but
dissidents belonging to the military operation against from the president,” Barre-
nation’s once largest guer- dissidents with the for- ras said Wednesday. “This
rilla. Guillermo Botero sub- mer Revolutionary Armed is a wake-up call for the
mitted a resignation letter Forces of Colombia during government, demanding
to President Iván Duque, a heated debate in con- they redirect the national
touting his achievements gress. agenda.”
in reducing crime while Botero described the ac- The outrage over the
stating that the current cusations as “speculative deaths follows a number
“political circumstances” information” and the mili- of other incidents raising
had compelled him to step tary denied it knew that mi- concerns about the mili-
down. nors were present. tary’s conduct and their
The former minister has Nonetheless, the chief response to a growing tide
been facing mounting criti- prosecutor’s office con- of violence against indig-
cism over his handling of firmed Wednesday that enous communities and so-
several incidents highlight- eight minors died in the cial leaders.
In this Dec. 17, 2018 file photo, Colombia's President Ivan ing Colombia’s ongoing late August operation in In one recent incident, a
Duque places his hand over his chest as he reviews the troops
with Defense Minister Guillermo Botero during a swearing- struggle to defeat illegal San Vicente del Caguán, a man living in the violence-
in ceremony for the new military and police commanders, in armed groups without re- region once controlled by plagued region of Cauca
Bogota, Colombia. peating past errors and the rebels, who signed an was killed in what the mili-
Associated Press rights abuses. historic peace accord end- tary has described as an
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO minister resigned Wednes- On Tuesday, Sen. Roy Bar- ing Latin America’s longest- operation against dissident
Associated Press day after coming under reras accused Botero of running conflict in 2016. guerrillas but which nearby
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) fire for failing to disclose the neglecting to inform the “I’m convinced the minister residents contend was a
— Colombia’s defense deaths of several minors in public that at least seven withheld information not homicide. q