Troops deployed to battle Amazon fires

Burning forests ignite global debates on climate change and deforestation

This year's fire season in the Amazon is igniting a global debate on climate change and deforestation while thousands of Brazilian troops battle the spreading fires.

The number of fires between January and August 21 is up 85 percent from the same period in 2018, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, which tracks satellite data. The cases also increased in neighboring Bolivia and Paraguay.

Under increasing international pressure to contain the fires, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has ordered 44,000 troops to be ready to combat the fires. He also spoke with the presidents of Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Spain.

Bolivia and Paraguay have also struggled to contain fires that swept through woods and fields and, in many cases, got out of control in high winds. About 7,500 square kilometers of land has been affected in Bolivia. A Boeing 747-400 Super-Tanker has been despatched to dump retardant on the blazes there.

Forest fires are common across the Amazon rainforest between May and October but the big jump this year has ignited a global debate that threatens to hurt Brazil's trade and diplomatic relationships.

"The number of fire outbreaks recorded in the Amazon in 2019 is one of the largest in recent years. And it is getting worse," Romulo Batista, an Amazon campaigner from Greenpeace Brazil, said.

The concern is that the increase in the number of fires is directly related to rapid deforestation.

Thomas Lovejoy, a senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation and a professor at the Environmental Science and Policy department at George Mason University in the United States, said deforestation of the Amazon rainforest could soon reach a tipping point. Working with a Brazilian scientist, Lovejoy concluded about 18 months ago that "the tipping point probably is around 20 percent deforestation. And we're very close to that. Probably at 18 percent or 19 percent".

"There are three things affecting (the Amazon) today. One is deforestation. One is extensive use of fire as you can see right now. And the third is climate change. And the three of them are working together on that hydrological cycle pushing toward a tipping point," Lovejoy added.

Raising concerns

Ahead of the G7 summit in France over the weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement saying that Brazilian statements and decisions indicate Bolsonaro "has decided to not respect his commitments on the climate, nor to involve himself on the issue of biodiversity". Last week Macron threatened to pull French support for a free-trade agreement signed in June between the European Union and the regional trade bloc Mercosur after two decades of negotiations. Brazil is a prominent member of Mercosur.

Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne also expressed concern, saying "Brazilian rainforests are vital for the world's climate" and Brazil should do whatever it can to stop the blazes. Finland holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Bolsonaro responded quickly, saying that France's criticisms are politically motivated and not conducive to any solutions.

"Deforestation is taking place in protected areas, deforestation is taking place in public areas in general or even in private crops," said Andre Guimaraes, executive director at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute. And this "has to be addressed through command and control activities".

About one-third of Brazil's GDP is related to land use and about 70 percent of the Brazilian exports are directly related to agricultural commodities. What is more, the deforestation could be facilitating the fires by cutting down on the amount of rain, Guimaraes said.