Burning ban takes effect as Amazon fires rage

PORTO VELHO, Brazil - A 60-day ban on burning in Brazil took effect on Thursday after a global outcry over fires raging in the Amazon and data showing hundreds of new blazes in the rainforest.

The decree issued by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro came after escalating pressure over the worst fires in the Amazon in years, which have ignited a diplomatic spat between Brazil and Europe.

But activists quickly doused hopes that the ban would work.

"The people who burn without a license are not going to obey," said Rodrigo Junqueira of the Socio-Environmental Institute.

The rainforest, which is the world's largest and crucial to a stable global climate, is mostly located in Brazil.

Thousands of troops and firefighters have been deployed to combat the fires, along with two C-130 Hercules and other aircraft that are dumping water over affected areas in the country's north.

Police on Thursday arrested three people for burning more than 5,000 hectares in a conservation area in Para state.

More than 1,600 new fires were ignited between Tuesday and Wednesday, taking this year's total to almost 85,000 - the highest number since 2010, official data shows. Around half of them are in the vast Amazon basin.

Bolsonaro however claimed in a live broadcast on social media that "this year's fires are below the average of recent years".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday mooted a meeting of key countries to drum up support to tackle the fires that have also devastated swaths of Bolivia.

"We are strongly appealing for the mobilization of resources and we have been in contact with countries to see whether, during the high-level session of the General Assembly, there could be a meeting devoted to the mobilization of support to the Amazon," Guterres told reporters.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of the proposal. It urged "foreign authorities" to learn more about the country's environmental policies, the situation in the Amazon and measures taken to combat the fires "before proposing new initiatives."

International offers of help for combating the fires is a hot-button issue in Brazil, with Bolsonaro and others insisting on the country's sovereign rights over the Amazon.

Bolsonaro accused France and Germany on Wednesday of "buying" Brazil's sovereignty after the G7 offered $20 million in fire aid.

The governors of several states in the Amazon told Bolsonaro in a meeting on Tuesday that international help was needed.

Their plea came after Norway and Germany halted around $70 million in Amazon protection subsidies earlier this month.

The United States is ready to help Brazil fight forest fires in the Amazon, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, criticizing the G7 for failing to consult Bolsonaro over its initiative.

Bolsonaro's son and prospective ambassador to the United States was set to travel to Washington on Friday to thank Trump for his support during the crisis surrounding the fires in the Amazon rainforest.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/31/2019 page8)