Forest fires are a global phenomenon that affects numerous countries and regions, causing environmental devastation, loss of biodiversity, damage to infrastructure, economic losses, as well as damage to the public health of these areas inhabitants.
By Marianny Castellanos / Correspondent lapatilla.com
Venezuela has witnessed in recent years a series of devastating forest fires that have seriously affected natural areas and local communities, worsened by factors such as climate change, deforestation, irresponsible human activity and the lack of adequate preventive measures.
So far this year, lapatilla.com has recorded at least 7 forest fires and hundreds of vegetation fires reported in the states of Aragua, Monagas, Carabobo, Táchira, Mérida and the capital city, and prominently ‘El Ávila’national park, which have devastated thousands of hectares of biodiversity causing a negative impact in the medium and long term.
Specifically in the state of Aragua, experts in the field have recorded about 59 consecutive days of brush fires, counting from December 24 of past 2023 to date, in which more than 2,500 hectares of the Henri Pittier National Park have been lost.
In the midst of this scenario, prevention stands as a fundamental tool to mitigate these disasters and protect ecosystems. That is why we spoke with Enrique García, President of the NGO ‘Sembramos Todos’ (We All Plant), who assured that a large number of fires are not even recorded by the local press.
Furthermore, he mentioned the fire that recently occurred in the Magdaleno area, Zamora Municipality, which destroyed approximately 1,500 hectares and did not generate any media coverage, because it is not related to the Henri Pittier national park. “In the state of Aragua every day there is a forest fire of greater or lesser magnitude.”
Likewise, García pointed out that many of these fires are provoked, such as the one that occurred in a sugarcane field, where the custom of ending the harvest with fire has led to serious situations. “This practice of clearing with fire is punishable by law, according to municipal ordinances and other administrative sanctions,” he said.
The key is prevention
Although on February 7th, the Ministry for Ecosocialism, together with the government of Aragua and the vice ministry for Risk Management and Civil Protection, inaugurated the Unified Forest Fire Command, the environmental specialist assured that these prevention actions have not been implemented, such as electronic surveillance or early detection of fires.
“There is a big failure at the level of prevention, because if you already know that forest fires get started in specific areas and dates, what should be done is increase and tighten forest surveillance. And if forest surveillance is very complicated, we should use an electronic system that detects heat sources to attack the fire when it starts or to capture those who are burning, because they will be recorded on cameras. And that has not even been proposed,” he noted.
Likewise, he commented that efforts must be combined as in public policies for environmental education and the application of exemplary legal sanctions. “The penalties for environmental crimes are 5 years or less, and they can only be punished with a presentation or community service regime,” Enrique reiterated.
Regarding the consequences of the lack of reforestation, he indicated that the water absorption capacity of the mountain decreases and ends up as runoff in the southern areas of the city, that then suffer the “onslaught of the waters” that had to be absorbed by the mountains.
“The Palmarito landslide was not fortuitous. This was caused because there were a series of previous fires that destroyed the vegetation in vulnerable areas in Palmarito, and when the rains came with very high volumes of water and there was not enough vegetation to retain it, this caused the soil to give way. And the same thing happened in Las Tejerías,” he insisted.
Insufficient provision
Regarding the activation of the Unified Forest Fire Command, the Government put into operation “the first Water System made with an petroleum tank at the national level”. It has 7.5 meters in diameter and a storage capacity of 300,000 liters of water, in this tank helicopters of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) will be supplied with water for drizzle operations.
In addition, at the event they delivered 30 motorcycles for the forest firefighters, four four-wheel drive vehicles, a complete set of uniforms for the forest firefighters, boots, uniforms for the volunteer corps of Aragua and a “Bambi bucket” device for the helicopter of Aragua State government.
In addition, a motorcycle repair kit for Dr 650, communication radios for the regions, uniforms with boots for the Civil Park Ranger Corps, 500 beaters for fighting forest fires, forest rakes, forged iron shovels for heavy forestry use, bunk beds and mattresses, were some of the other items they gave to the volunteers.
However, when speaking with a forest firefighter, who preferred to keep his identity anonymous, he pointed out that this provision is insufficient and does not cover the real needs of the professional crews.
“The allocation is based on the fires generated within the Henri Pittier national park. Just by taking out the extension of the park, you can already get a perspective of how insufficient these supplies are,” he said.
It is important to highlight that Aragua is the state with the largest group of volunteers who, together with forest firefighters and civil protection, are ready to fight forest fires. However, they face precarious conditions and a lack of support that limits their ability to act and puts their safety at risk.
Given this reality, prevention and environmental education are inherent to avoid tragedies and protect natural resources. It is necessary to work on community responsibility to guarantee a sustainable future for future generations.
