A humanitarian mission consisting of 62 firefighters from Brazil will combat forest fires along the border with Bolivia. There will be 37 military agents from the National Public Security Force, from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), and 25 agents from the Military Fire Department of the Federal District. The coordination is by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), and the work is led by a disaster specialist from the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development (MIDR).
According to a note published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the fires along the border are threatening to reach the Brazilian Pantanal. Therefore, the mission aims to help Bolivia fight the fires in its territory and to prevent new outbreaks from reaching Brazil.
The mission command is working with the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), part of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA). Overflights and analysis of satellite maps are planned to identify fire outbreaks on the border between Bolivia and the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.
There have been 112 fires recorded in the Pantanal region in recent weeks. At this time, 18 are active, 23 are under control by the task force led by the Forest Fire Prevention and Control Center – Prevfogo (linked to Ibama/MMA) and 71 have already been extinguished.
Part of the mission began operations last Thursday (5), when an advanced team traveled to Bolivia. A joint command is planned to be based in the city of San Ignacio de Velasco, in the department of Santa Cruz, about 315 kilometers from the border with Brazil.
