In Argentina, the lack of prevention and the subsequent expansion of wildfires is a cause for concern. Hernán Giardini, coordinator of Greenpeace's Forest Campaign in the country, has highlighted the responsibility in this regard, pointing out that ignoring science and reducing the budget allocated for forest protection has its consequences.
The wildfires have affected several areas of Argentina, according to official data. In Nahuel Huapi National Park in Río Negro, 11,661 hectares were reported burned, while in Lanín National Park in Neuquén, the figure rises to 22,131 hectares, although Greenpeace warns that this last figure may be higher as no recent data has been released.
In El Bolsón, Río Negro, approximately 3,825 hectares have been burned, and in the province of Chubut, the focus in Trevelin remains active with 2,000 hectares consumed. Four hotspots have been contained and one extinguished, with losses of 8,711 and 90 hectares respectively.
Hernán Giardini has announced the urgency of increasing the number of firefighters and improving infrastructure to quickly combat hotspots, which otherwise become uncontrollable. Greenpeace criticizes that the National Fire Management Service executed only 22% of the national budget for 2024, representing an 81% decrease in real terms compared to the previous year.
So far in 2024, wildfires have consumed a total of 48,688 hectares in forests, plantations, grasslands, and homes in various areas of Argentine Patagonia. Greenpeace has held authorities responsible for the lack of prevention, stating that both the national and provincial governments have underestimated the climate crisis, exacerbating these phenomena.
