The province of Corrientes regrets the loss of 6% of its territory due to the voracious fires that advance relentlessly and generate large losses in their wake. On an ecological level, the damage is incalculable and it will be difficult to recover.
The authorities of the province assure that, on a daily basis, the casualties, 19 thousand hectares are burned, which is equivalent to the total area of the City of Buenos Aires. To the firesCorrientes must add the prolonged drought that caused serious losses in its agricultural production.
The fires They began on January 15 and, since then, the INTA (National Institute of Agricultural Technology) estimates that 519 thousand hectares have been affected. During the last ten days, the damage was greater in areas of estuaries and wetlands.
The environmental alert is on: more than 50 thousand wetlands, in addition to weeds and fields for grazing animals, were consumed for the flames and the situation seems endless. Although most of the land is not of great economic value, it drastically affects local producers.
The authorities prepared a report based on satellite images, where the heat sources and the surfaces where there were total losses were classified. “If the current meteorological trends are not reversed, the burned area may continue to increase,” the document indicates.
The analysis revealed a continued increase in the total area affected by fires so far in 2020, almost 20 thousand hectares are added per day and the forecasts are not at all encouraging in the short and medium term.
More planning needed
INTA recommended more planning for the coming months in the rural sectors, since the sale of the farm could be brought forward due to the lack of regrowth of the grasslands in the fields that were completely burned.
The agency points out that the work of the brigadistas together with the provision of hydrant planes from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation have been key so that the tragedy was not greater; however, a greater proportion of resources is urgently required to put an end to the burning.
