Data presented at the 4th ordinary meeting of the ALMT Thematic Sector Chamber on Climate Change shows a worrying situation, especially in the Pantanal
Lack of rain and a considerable increase in the number of fires are harbingers of climate tragedies in Mato Grosso. According to data from the Fire Department, the number of hot spots in the state increased by 109% compared to last year and the volume of water is below what was recorded in 2020, the year of the largest forest fire ever recorded in the Pantanal. The data were presented during the 4th ordinary meeting of the Thematic Sector Chamber on Climate Change of the Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso (ALMT), this Monday (6).
While the southern region of the country is experiencing the worst climate tragedy due to the rains, Mato Grosso experiences drought in a large part of its territory immediately after the rainy season. The situation compromised the grain harvest and worries the most vulnerable communities, such as the indigenous population, traditional peoples and riverside communities. The president of the CST for Climate Change, deputy Júlio Campos (União), highlighted the importance of prevention work to prevent fires from reaching the proportions they had four years ago.
“Brazil is experiencing the consequences of climate change with the suffering of our brothers from Rio Grande do Sul. More than ever we need to prepare and this chamber aims to do exactly that. The biggest problem for Mato Grosso is the drought, we are leading the fire outbreaks and what will this be like in August? We need to prepare, prepare the Civil Defense so that it can act”, stated Campos.
Fire Department Colonel Aluísio Metelo Júnior presented data on the situation in the state and the country and the actions being developed to prevent forest fires. “We analyzed the first four months of this year, we have a worrying scenario with little rainfall due to climate change and the effects of El Niño. To act in prevention, AMM [Associação Mato-Grossense dos Municípios]the Legislative Assembly and the Court of Auditors started a project with the municipalities to expand the Fire Department’s response instruments, such as the formation of brigades and training”.
In addition to the work of the public authorities in partnership with the Fire Department, the president of the Brazilian Geology Federation, Caiubi Kuhn, presented a technical note on the main demands of the state’s Civil Defense. According to the professor at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), the state does not have the structure to act in cases of climate tragedies or to prevent them from happening.
“Climate events are cyclical, from time to time we will have floods, extreme droughts and this can be predicted and the impacts mitigated. But it is necessary to have studies that point out the frequency of these occurrences, locations, intensity, because this is what will direct the work of the technical teams. Unfortunately, if a tragedy like the one that happened in the South happened here, the impacts would be even worse.”
Deputy Júlio Campos stated that, in partnership with the vice-president of the CST, deputy Janaina Riva (MDB), he will take the technical note to Governor Mauro Mendes so that they can discuss how to invest in Civil Defense instrumentation.
Climate education – During the meeting held this Monday (6), the technician from the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema), Juliana Menezes, made a presentation on the climate education work developed by the State Secretariat for the Environment. Work to prepare new generations in schools, partnership with the State Department of Education, active listening to communities, prevention of climate anxiety are among the axes developed. According to Juliana, the United Nations (UN) classified climate change as a childhood crisis because it compromises the future of young people.
Indigenous Peoples – With the rivers dry, indigenous communities have been suffering from a lack of fish, crop losses in plantations and water shortages. The president of the Federation of Indigenous Peoples of Mato Grosso, Eliane Xunakalo, presented to the chamber’s technicians the critical situation experienced by the original peoples. “The rivers are dry. Juruena is dry, Teles Pires is dry. We don’t have fish, we won’t harvest enough and we don’t have access to the subsidies that conventional agriculture has. We need help, the basic food baskets that are distributed do not meet our needs.”
According to Eliane, there is a lack of resources to invest in plantations, ease of marketing production and environmental education to prevent the forest from continuing to be deforested.
