2020 Delta del Paraná wildfires

The 2020 Delta del Paraná wildfires is a series of wildfires that are burning across the Delta del Paraná in Argentina, affecting mainly the Entre Ríos and Santa Fe provinces, but also Buenos Aires, including major cities as Rosario.[1][2]

2020 Delta del Paraná wildfires
NASA satellite imagery showing fires as of 14 June 2020
LocationDelta del Paraná, Argentina
Statistics
Total area90,000 hectares (220,000 acres)
Season
2021 →

The first outbreaks were detected in February 2020, and new ones keep emerging until August 2020 at least.[2][3][4] Previously, this same area had suffered the 2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires.

Demonstrations in the Rosario-Victoria Bridge (August 2020)

As of August 2020, 90,000 hectares (220,000 acres) had burned, in over 8,000 detected fires.[5][6][7][8] A 10 million pesos (US$137,934) daily cost was estimated.[9]

Context

During the first months of 2020, the Río de la Plata river basin received an unusually low amount of rain, including the Iguazú and Paraguay rivers. This even caused the Iguazú Falls to dry for a time, what created a diplomatic conflict between Argentina and Brazil, over the several dams the country operates in the northern area of the basin. Brazil ultimately decided to open the open the floodgates of the dam for 12 days on 18 May 2020.[10][11][12][13]

This drought, which conjugated with the La Niña phenomenon, brought an historical low for the Paraná river level (the lowest level in 51 years).[14][15][16] Every watercourse in the De la Plata river basin registered very low levels and droughts, caused by rainfall anomalies in the northern area of the basin.[14]

This low water level caused several problems, including trouble for big ships to navigate and export the harvest, water intakes in several cities unable to soak any water, and a big fish mortality.[15][17][12] It also made several environment-harming activities easier, such as illegal fishing and hunting, activities which in some cases involve engaging in illegal fires as well.[1][18][19]

But mainly, this lack of rainfalls caused a drought in the Delta del Paraná, and a lack of moisture in its abundant available plant biomass that stimulates the start and fast expansion of fires.[20]

Causes
Smoke in the City of Rosario, July 2020

During the summer, it was thought that the fires could be caused by people putting out cigarettes or leaving bonfires lit while on the Delta del Paraná islands, as well as by cattle ranchers trying to gain terrain.[21][22][1]

Meanwhile, during 2020 farmers and ranchers in Argentina were subject of several kinds of sabotages, including silobolsas[23] being shattered and fields set into fire.[24] The agricultural sector pointed that the fires were a consequence of the higher amount of public visiting the islands (both tourists and poachers), the high number of available plant biomass, and even some political intentionality, linked to the sabotaged suffered by them during the year. Also, ranchers explained that it would be of no use for them to set their ranches on fire (which account for about 20 or 30% of the islands area, the rest being public lands), since soybean prices didn't make farming on the Delta attractive, and the fires damage the land for its use for livestock grazing.[25][26]

Criminal charges were brought against several ranchers.[26][27]

On the other hand, several Environmental organizations pointed that the fires were started by ranchers to renew graze, as they do every year, but with the difference that in 2020 the drought made those fires bigger and easier to grow, which caused the shift so rapidly.[27] The government credited this theory, blaming the fires on ranchers.[28][29][30]

References
  1. Aitken, Peter (2 August 2020). "Fire continues to ravage Argentina's delta; authorities struggle to combat the spread". FOX News. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  2. Goñi, Uki (30 July 2020). "'Everything is burning': Argentina's delta fires rage out of control". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  3. "Incendios en las islas entrerrianas generaron quejas por el humo en Rosario". El Once (in Spanish). Paraná. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  4. Bolzán, Francisco (14 February 2020). "Preocupan los incendios en islas del Delta del Paraná". Ahora (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  5. "Ya se quemaron 90 mil hectáreas por los incendios en el Delta del Paraná". Página 12 (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. de los Santos, Germán (1 August 2020). "Masiva marcha para protestar por los incendios en las islas del Paraná". La Nación (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  7. "El ministro Juan Cabandié se sumó a la lucha contra los incendios en el Delta del Paraná". Clarín (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  8. Socolsky, Claudio (26 July 2020). "Por fin controlaron los incendios en el Delta". Página 12 (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  9. "Continúan los incendios en las islas del Delta del Paraná y Omar Perotti reclamó la intervención de la Justicia". Infobae (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  10. Boerr, Martín (7 April 2020). "Las Cataratas tienen solo un "hilo" de agua por la peor sequía desde 2006". La Nación (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  11. Valente, Marcela. "Drought-hit Argentina faces water worries amid coronavirus pandemic". Reuters. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  12. "Agua: ante bajante histórica del río Paraná, Argentina le pedirá a Brasil que habilite el paso por las represas". El Cronista (in Spanish). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  13. "Itaipú abrió sus compuertas y empezó a crecer el Paraná". El Territorio (in Spanish). Posadas. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  14. Borús, Juan; Giordano, Leandro; Vita Sanchez, Maximiliano; Núñez, Victor; Contreras, Guillermo; Pereira, Andrea (9 May 2020). "Posibles escenarios hidrológicos en la Cuenca Del Plata durante el período Mayo-Junio-Julio 2020" (PDF). Informe Mensual - Alerta Hidrológico Cuenca del Plata (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Instituto Nacional del Agua. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  15. "La bajante del Río Paraná se profundizó y alcanzó el nivel más bajo desde 1971". Infobae (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  16. Maximilian Heath; Hugh Bronstein (28 May 2020). "Parched Parana River likely to hit Argentine grain exports through September". Reuters. Buenos Aires. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  17. Arrúa, Patricia (25 May 2020). "La bajante extraordinaria del río Paraná deja una estela de destrucción, alerta un experto". Télam (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  18. "A río seco, ganancia de depredadores: Ambientalistas de Rosario denuncian estragos en la bajante". Agencia de Informaciones Mercosur (AIM) (in Spanish). Paraná. ISSN 2451-8115. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  19. "La bajante del río Paraná: reclaman más controles por la depredación de la pesca". Aire de Santa Fe (in Spanish). Santa Fe. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  20. Rico, Tomás (1 August 2020). "Sequía y bajante del Paraná: escenario propicio para los incendios en las islas". El Litoral (in Spanish). Santa Fe. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  21. "Incendios afectan las islas del delta del Paraná". El Entrerriano (in Spanish). 15 February 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  22. "Fuego en las islas: "Si siguen permitiendo pescar y acampar cerca de la ruta habrá más incendios"". Rosario3 (in Spanish). Rosario. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  23. nylon bags used for grain storage
  24. "Productores repudiaron el incendio intencional en el campo del vicepresidente de CRA". Agrofy News (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  25. Longoni, Matías (24 June 2020). "¿Por qué nadie le preguntó a los productores sobre los incendios en las islas? "Nosotros no somos los que quemamos", afirma Enrique Goset". Bichos de campo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  26. "Hay varios productores imputados por los incendios frente a Rosario: Dura reacción de los autoconvocados". Bichos de Campo (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 25 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  27. Grasso, Agustina (16 June 2020). "El detrás de los incendios en el Delta: negocio ganadero y desidia macrista". Perfil (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  28. "Delta del Paraná: se quemaron ya más de 5 mil hectáreas por desidia de productores". Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  29. "Cabandié presentó una denuncia contra productores por la quema de pastizales". Página 12 (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  30. "El delta está en peligro". Página 12 (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
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