Fires in the Pantanal: State of emergency in Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul state

The government of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul has declared a state of emergency for one hundred and eighty days in fourteen municipalities/administrative districts because of the fires in the Pantanal, the world largest wetland.

The decree was published on Friday (22nd) in the Official Gazette of the “Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul”. According to the document, the state in the Cener West region is experiencing one of the greatest droughts in recent years.

The text mentions that the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) monitoring platform registered 2,165 hot spots from June to July.

According to researcher Julia Rodrigues of the Laboratory of Environmental Satellite Applications of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, by July 20, more than one hundred and twenty-one thousand hectares had burned in the “Pantanal Matogrossense,” thirty-four percent more than in 2021.

The decree now issued authorizes the summoning of volunteers and the entering of homes by civil defense officials to provide assistance or remove people.

The text also provides that the purchase of goods, services, and construction work during emergencies need not be put out to bid. About $6.5 million can be used for the measures in the decree.

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