President Dina Boluarte announced that the next Council of Ministers will discuss the legal framework so that areas affected by fires are not recognized as agricultural zones, nor are they granted property titles.
LOOK: Forest fires in Peru: Death toll rises to 18 and 150 injured
“It is not fair that people with intentions other than family farming burn hectares on a large scale and then enter with machinery. The correct thing to do would be to carry out the corresponding legal procedures. They cannot set fire to prairies to expand their agricultural activities, affecting the community members, the ecosystem, the fauna and the country,” he said from the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN).
The president urged the Public Ministry to investigate these events and punish those responsible for environmental crimes. “It is necessary that the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police act firmly. Now that the Police have the investigation in their hands, we must proceed with all the severity that is required. Those who cause these fires must assume their responsibility,” he said.
Dina Boluarte said that the fires caused will not lead to a lack of government. “We will continue to govern with actions, not with empty words, and we will not allow ourselves to be diverted from our responsibilities. We will continue to respond to emergencies and We will continue to govern until 2026,” he stressed.
He said that to date, 83% of the fires have been attended to and extinguished. “In total, approximately 288,000 liters of water have been used to mitigate these fires, and the actions continue; we have arranged for a FAP Spartan aircraft to continue to enter repeatedly to help extinguish the fire,” he indicated.
Balance
The president took stock of the forest fires that have been recorded in recent years and stated that in 2021 there were 163 fires, the lowest number in recent years. In 2022, the number rose to 380 fires; in 2023, 341 were recorded, and in 2024, so far, 268.
“In other words, these fires, whether due to ancestral reasons or the expansion of agricultural land, occur every year,” he said.
