Alert Note: Drought and Wildfire Emergency in Bolivia

Aktion Amazonas has submitted an alert note due to drought and wildlife emergency in Bolivia.

On July 22, 2024, the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz declared a state of emergency through the end of this year due to extreme weather exacerbated by wildfires, further worsening the situation and polluting drinking water and the air, causing significant harm and inconvenience to the local population. In recent years, Bolivia has suffered from prolonged droughts and a lack of rain, and the current drought and missing rainfall are hitting the local population even harder, as they are already struggling with water shortages and drastically reduced crop yields. In Bolivia as in the department of Santa Cruz, most of the rural population depend on livestock and commercial and subsistence agriculture. The current drought is classified as severe to very severe according to the definition by the National State Hydrometeorological Service (SHS), while the droughts have generated a significant increase in the number of fire and forest fires in the last month, reaching a situation that is now out of control.

The current crisis is a natural disaster caused by extreme weather, droughts, strong winds, and extreme temperatures, exacerbated by wildfires that, due to the dry conditions and strong winds, are out of control. The situation is further complicated by fuel shortages, preventing firefighters from reaching some areas to extinguish the fires. The magnitude of the forest fires is extreme - even for the hard-hit Santa Cruz region, which is accustomed to wildfires. Some fires reach up to 40 kilometers in length and 8-10 kilometers in width, with speeds exceeding 40-50 km/hour. As of July 30, 445,000 ha of forest have gone up in flames according to Julieta Valverde, the government's natural resources director for Santa Cruz.