By Jake Spring
SAO PAULO, - Brazil's Amazon rainforest has experienced its largest blazes on record in the first four months of the year, with the environmental workers union on Monday placing partial blame on lower government spending on firefighting.
The Environment Ministry and environmental enforcement agency Ibama did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has staked his international reputation on protecting the Amazon rainforest and restoring Brazil as a leader on climate policy. The Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, is vital to curbing catastrophic global warming because of the vast amount of greenhouse gas it absorbs.
A record drought in the Amazon rainforest region, driven by the El Nino climate phenomenon and global warming, has helped contribute to dry conditions fueling fires this year.
More than 12,000 square kilometers of the Brazil's Amazon rainforest burned between January and April, the most in over two decades of data, according to Brazil's space research agency Inpe. That's an area larger than Qatar, or nearly the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut.
Fires in the Amazon generally do not occur naturally but are ignited by people, often seeking to clear land for agriculture.
Firefighting budget cuts are also partially to blame, environmental workers union Ascema said in a statement. They complained that this year's budget for environmental agency Ibama to fight fires is 24% lower than 2023.
Ibama agents have suspended field work since January amid tense negotiations with the federal government for better pay and working conditions.
Ascema has rejected the latest government offer and demanded larger salary rises after more than a decade of paltry increases and dwindling staff.
While the area burned is a record for the first four months of the year, it pales in comparison to blazes in the peak dry season from August to November, when an area that size can burn in a single month.
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