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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/09/devastation-as-worlds-biggest-wetland-burns-those-that-cannot-run-dont-stand-a-chance-brazil-pantanal>
"Perched atop blackened trees, howler monkeys survey the ashes around them. A
flock of rheas treads, disoriented, in search of water. The skeletons of
alligators lie lifeless and charred.
The Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland and one of the most biodiverse places
on Earth, is on fire. Huge stretches of land resemble the aftermath of a
battle, with thick green shrubbery now a carpet of white ash, and chunks of
debris falling from the sky.
More than 760,000 hectares (1.8m acres) have already burned across the
Brazilian Pantanal in 2024, as fires surge to the highest levels since 2020,
the worst year on record. From January to July, blazes increased by 1,500%
compared with the same period last year, according to the country’s Institute
for Space Research.
“The impact is devastating. Animals are dying, wildfires are vanishing huge
areas,” says Gustavo Figueirôa, a biologist at SOS Pantanal, a non-governmental
organisation. “We expect it is only going to get worse.”
Stretching across Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, the Pantanal covers 16.9m
hectares (42m acres) and harbours rich biodiversity. It is one of the world’s
main refuges for jaguars and houses a host of vulnerable and endangered
species, including giant river otters, giant armadillos and hyacinth macaws.
Its ecosystem is also unique. Every year its “flood pulse” sees it swell with
water during the rainy season and empty throughout the dry months. But the
climate crisis, droughts and weak rains have disrupted this seasonal pattern,
turning the land into a tinderbox.
With the blazes starting unusually early this year – in late May and early
June, before the annual fire season between July and September – experts
predict 2024 will be the most devastating in decades.
“The wildfires are a signal – nature is raising a flag,” says Pierre Girard at
the Federal University of Mato Grosso. “We had fires before but now thousands
and thousands of hectares burn every year. We are losing the battle.”"
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
