Thread by @luisaviegas

[1/20] The Pantanal wetland is on fire. There are already approximately 20 thousand square kilometers of burnt area, and fires continue to destroy this, which is the largest continental wetland in the world.

#PantanalEmLuta #BioThread
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[2/20] The Pantanal is a natural region with an estimated total area of around 195 thousand square kilometers. It covers the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil, also extending to Bolivia and Paraguay.

#PantanalEmLuta

[3/20] This means that the flames have already consumed around 10% of its entire length, and the prospects are terrible.

#PantanalEmLuta

[4/20] Unlike the Amazon, the Pantanal can have natural fires. Many of its plant species are adapted to heat, with thicker leaves and seeds that need the flames to germinate.

#PantanalEmLuta

[5/20] The fields formed by grasses favor the spontaneous combustion process, which is often triggered by lightning. However, the 248% increase in heat sources in the region in recent months is far from being a natural process.

#PantanalEmLuta

[6/20] Natural fires are associated with periods of rain, so with high humidity, natural fires propagate slowly and extinguish naturally. It turns out that the Pantanal is facing the worst drought in the last 47 years.

#PantanalEmLuta

[7/20] There was a 50% reduction in the volume of rain this year compared to last year, and the level of the Paraguay River, the main river of the Pantanal, reached the lowest registered mark in five decades.

#PantanalEmLuta

[8/20] Thus, the fire we are experiencing today has a single cause: human action.

#PantanalEmLuta

[9/20] The practice of setting fire to clean areas of fields and pastures is widespread not only in the Pantanal but also in the Cerrado and the Amazon - and was pointed as one of the causes of the fires that hit the Amazon last year.

#PantanalEmLuta

[10/20] During the drought period, this practice is extremely harmful to the environment, as the control of fire becomes practically impossible.

#PantanalEmLuta

[11/20] Thus, two measures came into effect to ban the practice: the state decree in Mato Grosso that made the practice illegal since July 1 and the federal moratorium against fire in the Amazon and Pantanal, on July 16.

#PantanalEmLuta

[12/20] Despite this, the fire remains strong, threatening the integrity of this rich and biodiverse natural region. Many animals are dying burned, some being rescued with many burns and weakened.

#PantanalEmLuta

[13/20] The animals that managed to escape the fires are now concentrated around the few remaining pools of water. Many are starving. Most of the plains that other years would be flooded with now have no water at all.

#PantanalEmLuta

[14/20] In this hard drought, the plains, once flooded, are now dry and no longer serve as natural barriers to prevent the fire from spreading. Then, as the locals say, the fire "leaps" - devouring larger and larger areas.

#PantanalEmLuta

[15/20] We are experiencing an unprecedented tragedy. The help that has arrived is not enough. The number of men in the fire department is far from necessary. The inn owners risk their own lives trying to put out the fire.

#PantanalEmLuta

[16/20] There are a few dozen people, when thousands would be needed, to face the flames on their arms, on the embers. Without them, there would be no green left that shelters what remains of the Pantanal life.
We need to reflect on our impact on the world.

#PantanalEmLuta

[17/20] We explore the environment as if there is no tomorrow; we destroy forests, we burn landscapes, we drive our biodiversity to extinction. The society in which we live is driven by consumption, by the extraction of natural resources at our leisure.

#PantanalEmLuta

[18/20] However, we are not above nature - we are part of it. We need to learn from the native peoples to coexist with the environment, and not to exploit it to the last drop. If we continue doing this, we will soon have nothing more to protect.

#PantanalEmLuta

[19/20] The scenario is apocalyptic, but you can help.
Dr. @Biophilica and Dr. @benphalan are there at the moment, documenting everything. They crowdfunded to help people who are on the front lines of fire fighting: vaka.me/1359949

#PantanalEmLuta

[20/20] These people need equipment, water trucks, an army of people and machines capable of winning this war. Please help the Pantanal!

Watch the video on Instagram: bit.ly/2ZgbOUe

#PantanalEmLuta
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