Fires: Allies for the forced change of PLUS?

“You have to understand that the Uncontrolled fire mainly affects public lands and dry forests in Chiquitania. Fires are also repeated due to the burning of grasslands in areas of extensive livestock farming, such as San Matías,” explained Gonzalo Colque, researcher at the Tierra Foundation.

“I have no doubt whatsoever and the modus operandi is absolutely clear,” responded Jorge Ávila, manager of the Bolivian Forestry Chamber (CFB), on the extent to which the fires are part of a strategy for a forced change of Santa Cruz Land Use Plan (PLUS).

For Avila, Interculturals are the “spearhead” of this scheme. And that behind the interculturals (colonists) there is an entire political-economic structure that is what generates this type of actions.

According to Avila, They identify available and unavailable forest lands for equipment, “because there is no difference in the attitude towards these lands, they have no qualms because they have their way, and they have the technical information of all the plans and maps of Santa Cruz,” he said.

He gave as an example of this trend towards a decrease in Bolivia, of ssix million hectares of forest concessions tos, which are also now called Special Temporary Authorizations (ATE), after 28 years of the promulgation of the Forestry Law, or the entry into force of the regime of Law 1700.

“And if you fly over or review a satellite image, of those four million hectares that we no longer have, they are in 80% occupied by former settlers, today called intercultural, whether from the Bartolinas, Interculturales and Custcb organizations,” he said.

To make matters worse, Ávila said, There is a political and legal advantage under the INRA Law, which states that all forestry rights will be subject to regularization and that agrarian rights have priority over forestry rights.

“The argument is that agrarian law is a real right of private property, whereas forestry is an administrative right, which is a concession. With that argument They have robbed us of four million hectares in the country. The vast majority were intercultural and a large percentage were also large agricultural companies,” he added.

​San Matías is burning throughout the fire season

Agricultural frontier and trafficking

Consulted on El Deber Radio, about the intentions to modify the PLUS Santa Cruz at the point of fires, the Minister of Defense, Edmundo Novillo, He replied that one of the main causes is that in private, peasant, intercultural property or in the indigenous community, but fundamentally in private, peasant and intercultural property, there is an end to expanding the agricultural frontier.

“It is the easiest way to have the land cleared for planting, “Proceeding to burn in a way that does not follow the procedures, these are illegal burns that are outside the law and, consequently, there are those responsible,” he admitted.

Regarding the possibility of new illegal settlements, Novillo said that this is an issue that is being handled by INRA.

“We will see where these fires have been generated, if they are legal settlements, consolidated private property or in process at the INRA,” he explained about the national fire operations and monitoring center in Santa Cruz, presented jointly by the Ministry of Environment and Water (MMAyA), the INRA, the ABT, the COED of the Governorate, and other entities.

For Ávila, the final destination of these endowed lands ends up in a different economic actor than the initial one, “whether a Bolivian, Brazilian, Argentine, Mennonite businessman, whatever.”

The work of firefighters is not proportional to the advance of the flames at different points

The fires began in force in San Matías at the end of June, however, it was only the August 1st when burning was completely banned in the department of Santa Cruz, according to what Robin Justiniano, national legal director of the ABT, confirmed to El Deber Radio.

The ABT’s daily fire reports show that, Since June until today, fires have increased on fiscal lands (owned by the Bolivian State), including those that are not supposed to be available for allocation.

The report of July 16 and 17 already showed 3,000 hectares burned in San Rafael, where the Natal Forest Management Plan used to be, and today the Anzaldo peasant community. At that time, there were no more than ten active fires, but since July 21 they have doubled, and the flames have reached new state lands, those of Savinal, in Roboré, where no one is supposed to live, but where Mennonites currently live. Likewise, the fire also spread to San José de Chiquitos, on roads, state lands; and in San Rafael in the area where the wood cutters operate.

In addition, Since July 24, El Choré began to burn, the forest production reserve where 60 thousand hectares were burned last year, generating the worst air quality in the capital of Santa Cruz, and which on August 14, 2024, by Supreme Decree 5202 of President Luis Arce, became a protected area.

The measure was criticized by the Tierra Foundation, the Pro Santa Cruz Committee and the deputy María René Álvarez, among others, since “Under the guise of a protected area, more than 200 thousand hectares are handed over to settlements, and consolidates the illegal resolutions of the INRA in the Integrated Management Natural Area (ANMI), one of the zonings of the protected area,” the Tierra Foundation denounced at the time.

In early August, the ABT report already showed 30 fire outbreaks. On August 5, fires on state land appeared on the radar in new points of San José, adjacent to the Jerusalem Agro-livestock Peasant Community, and the Nueva Esperanza B Agroecological Peasant Community.

On August 9, monitoring showed the absence of hot spots, coinciding with the rains. Since August 10, Concepción has appeared on the list of the flames, and also, pfor the first time Urubichá, where the Cimal company has its forestry production works, a place where the fires continued until the 24th. The flames also started in the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (PNNKM) and spread to other fire sites in San Ignacio de Velasco.

On August 17th The fire affected fiscal land in San Miguel de Velascoadjacent to the El Puquio I property.

On August 19, it was also They found evidence of fires in the San Juan de Corralito Population Centerfiscal land, in San Matías.

On August 23rd too fire outbreaks were reported on fiscal land adjacent to the 21st Century Peasant Community, in San José de Chiquitos.

Since the beginning of the fires, One of the most affected areas is the San Matías national protected area, one of the largest in the country, with an area of ​​almost three million hectares, which has affected 40% of its surface.

Otuquis also suffered damageand since yesterday the flames started in another national protected area, the Manuripi Wildlife Reserve, in Pando, a department where they are currently working to modify the Land Use Plan, as was done with Beni in 2021.

As of yesterday, in the La Victoria community, in El Choré, declared a protected area, in full prohibition, 10 thousand hectares had already burned.

In 2021, in the midst of the transition of the Santa Cruz Governorate, from Rubén Costas to Luis Fernando Camacho, The Ministry of Rural Development and Lands (MDRyT) proposed a land use bill for the department, which was questioned by various actors.

On that occasion, Alcides Vadillo, from Fundación Tierra, pointed out that it would allow the legalization of what has been done wrong, such as the distribution of land without going through the Departmental Agrarian Commission (CAD).

“The provision of forest land for agricultural use, which violates the PLUS, by the INRA and the granting of clearing permits by the ABT”, which swept away departmental powers.

The Chiquitana deputy María René Álvarez denounced the recently approved loan of 40 million dollars for the “Bolivian Land Administration Program” for Sustainable Rural Development”, supposedly intended to complete the land sanitation work.

Jorge Ávila stated that the term forestry concession does not exist on a single page of the 2009 CPE.

This year, the Departmental Legislative Assembly of Santa Cruz enacted two laws, one on territorial planning and another on the departmental PLUS. However, fires are on the agenda, but not the possibilities granted by these new norms.

From the ABT, Robin Justiniano said that if the Government of Santa Cruz convenes a Departmental Agrarian Commission (CAD), they would go as an entity, although to date that has not happened.