President Jair Bolsonaro ordered military personal to tackle Brazil ’s wildfire over the weekend , after receiving widespread condemnation for his go - a - blind - eye - and - brush off - it advance .
Bolsonaro had antecedently answer to reports of a curiouslyhigh wildfire counting , saying"I used to be called Captain Chainsaw . Now I am Nero , setting the Amazon aflame . But it is the season of the queimada " – queimada being the practice of farmers burning commonwealth to assoil the way for planting .
Over the weekend , Bolsonaro authorized the use of scout group to fight fires affecting seven states , including Rondonia where two C-130 Hercules aircraft have been dumping chiliad of liters of water over the forest canopy to squelch the glare . Regional governors will now be able-bodied to request " preventative action " against environmental offense and deploy soldiers to share with fire outbreaks , the BBCreports .
In addition to station 700 military personnel to fight the firing , up to 28 billion Brazilian reais ( $ 6.8 billion ) would be put towards the cause , Brazil ’s Defense Minister , Fernando Azevedo e Silva , say in a Saturday press conference . According toTime , some 44,000 troops will be made available for the task .
This news comes in the aftermath of data collect by the National Institute for Space Research ( INPE ) , which revealed the gamey number of wildfires in the Amazon per yr – now totalingmore than 39,000 – since tracking began in 2013 . sooner this month , NASA reported the overall attack frequency across the Amazon was near the 15 - year average but has since publishedan updatesaying new satellite data point show 2019 is the most active fire year in the part since 2010 .
According to Douglas Morton , chief of the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center , August 2019 stands out because of a hefty increase in " big , acute , and lasting fire " along major roads . The timing and location of wildfire irruption are more in line with land glade than drought - related causes .
" I ’ve teach as a military man to love the Amazon forest and I want to facilitate protect it , " Bolsonaro state in this weekend’sbroadcast – words that seem to remain firm in severe demarcation to his action , which have pick up deforestation rate jump since his ascension to the presidential term in January 2019 . July , for object lesson , saw a278 percentyear - on - year step-up .
Though pace startedrisingbefore Bolsonaro accept office and deforestation has not reached the scale leaf of2004 , environmental groups are seriously touch by the quickness of the recent increases and Bolsonaro ’s advisedly slack position towards the Amazon at the behest of diligence interests . The president has loosen red tape measure around environmental regulations and slash the budget of Brazil ’s primary environmental agency by24 per centum . Unsurprisingly , enforcement action have dropped as a result .
In response to the wildfires , French President Emmanuel Macrontweeted"our house is burning " . He has been a impregnable force ( along with the Chilean President of the United States Sebastián Piñera ) in delivering a$20 million aid packageintended to avail Amazon countries contend with the wildfires at this year ’s G7 summit .
Previously , both Ireland and France have said they wouldnot sign a trade deal with South American countries , while Germany and Norway determine topull financial support out of the Amazon Fund – the two state have contributed $ 68 million and $ 1.2 billion to the fund severally . Meanwhile , protestorsat homeandabroadhave demanded government action against the wildfires .
