Currents. Devastating fires in northeastern Argentina have reached a world-renowned national park in the South American country, threatening its wildlife.
“We are currently counting many sources of fire in different places in the province of Corrientes,” said Talía Zamboni, coordinator of the reintroduction of endangered species at the “Rewilding Argentina” foundation, the German Press Agency. Accordingly, the situation in the Iberá National Park has worsened since January, especially in Cambyretá and San Nicolás. Various teams tried to bring the fires under control.
Fire spreads quickly
7,852 square kilometers of forest, pastures and swamps have burned in Argentina’s Corrientes province since January, according to a report by Argentina’s agriculture ministry, with experts surprised at the speed at which the fire is spreading. The fauna is also affected because the animals do not flee quickly or are surrounded by smoke and fire. “We found dead capybaras, caimans and other species,” says Zamboni. Among other things, she attributes the fires to the extreme drought this summer in the southern hemisphere. Even swamps have dried up and carelessness is enough for dry material to ignite. But the fire is also used to clean and open up new areas.
The Iberá Wetlands, a mixture of swamps, moors, lakes and lagoons in the border area with Paraguay and Brazil, are known in part for the late US multi-millionaire and environmentalist Douglas Tompkins, who credited “Rewilding Argentina”. Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, who also shot in Argentina, congratulated the South American country on the resettlement of jaguars. The return of jaguars is as important to the ecosystem of Iberá National Park as wolves are in Yellowstone National Park in the United States, he said.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220219-99-200113/8
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