Interviews

Brasília, the capital of Brazil, is located on Cerrado, a biome considered a global biodiversity hotspot. Although the Cerrado is home to an abundance of endemic species, the region suffers a significant loss of habitat for the animals it inhabits. In this sense, not only is the Cerrado suffering from waves of fires, mainly due to agribusiness but other Brazilian biomes and regions. Nonetheless, Cerrado has many natural fires, such as from lighting, in the last four years the region has had numerous fires which have been identified to be perpetrated by human activity. These fires have provoked a great loss of Cerrado’s endemic biodiversity, wildlife, and streak of harmful fumes across the region. Because of this pressing issue, YCAC LATAM invited Pedro Cardoso, Director of the “Directorate of Preservation and Forest Fires” of the Brasília Environmental Institute (IBRAM, by its acronym in Portuguese), for an interview about the fires taking place in the Brazilian Cerrado and the impact these have over the region.  

 

YCAC LATAM: How does the rain's return in Brasília contribute to the park's management?

 

PEDRO CARDOSO: The rain contributes to both a substantial decrease of forest fires and for the region’s recovery of the areas degraded by the fires. This is the moment when we do the plantings and the park's prevention.

 

YCAC LATAM: Compared to other times, were the burnings more intense this year? If they have, to what do you attribute this?

 

PEDRO CARDOSO: All over DF (Brasília), the burning areas were bigger than in other years. In the conservation units, which are our area of competence and performance, the area burned was smaller. This is due to the well-planned and executed preservation we made. Doing these preventions, the fires decrease.

 

YCAC LATAM: How can society contribute to the preservation of the Cerrado?

 

PEDRO CARDOSO: Not using fire indiscriminately. Every forest fire by this time of the year is caused by human action because there is no natural burning in this period. Therefore, currently, you shouldn’t use fire around these areas, because they could easily get out of control and spread.

 

YCAC LATAM: How long does nature take to recover from a severe burning?

 

PEDRO CARDOSO: It depends on the type of environment and its condition. Some environments never recover, and others even need more fire to recuperate, but at the right time [the process of controlled burning]. However, in this critical condition, more fire is simply bad for every area.

 

YCAC LATAM: What are the biggest challenges you have faced in your occupation area?

 

PEDRO CARDOSO: To stay calm when there is a fire outbreak. When a fire starts we should stay patient and keep a cool head to be able to execute the right decisions most quickly and effectively, so we can then decrease the damage caused by the fires. 

 

YCAC LATAM: What's the importance of investing in environmental management and preservation?

 

PEDRO CARDOSO: Environmental preservation brings us a lot of benefits, mainly in the long run--not only because it improves our [society] quality of life, but also for the appreciation of all kinds of life, cultures, economies. Environmental degradation brings us climatic changes, and, with that, all of the natural circle of life that we know and understand ends, and then comes thirst, hunger, and heat.

 

YCAC LATAM: Do industrial agriculture and cattle raising have any influence on the current forest fires?

 

PEDRO CARDOSO: It depends on the type of production and the way the area management occurs. Today we have the technology to preserve the environment while continuing production, and they are even way cheaper than the archaic methods that cause environmental issues in the first place. With the search for knowledge, new clean technologies, agroforestry methods, and even more extensive production with the conscious use of the soil and valorization of biomes and the environment, we can achieve more efficient productions that cause less impact than those used largely in the current scenario.