While national attention is focused on the fires in Patagonia, different fire outbreaks advance in the islands of the Paraná Delta without anyone combating them.
At the moment, the fire in front of the city of Rosario has already consumed more than 900 hectares of wetlands, in one of the country’s most vulnerable ecosystems.
Ironically, since this Monday, February 2, World Wetlands Day, a column of smoke rises over the Paraná River.
These are the fires in the Delta islands that have already consumed 900 hectares at kilometer 20 of the road between Rosario and Victoria, Entre Ríos.
Jorge Bártoli, a member of the NGO El Paraná No Se Toca, confirmed the situation. “On Wetlands Day, we have smoke columns in sight,” he stated in an interview with the media El Litoral.
According to the environmental organization, currently no one is combating the fire outbreaks in the Delta islands because they are far from coastal cities or roads. Meanwhile, the biodiversity of the wetland continues to deteriorate.
The smoke from this disaster, however, covers part of the city of Rosario.
Criticism of the state’s role in managing the fires in the Delta islands
The fires in the islands of the Paraná Delta can be monitored via NASA’s heat satellites.
However, the official response only appears when the smoke affects urban areas or circulation routes, environmentalists denounce.
“Generally, the State takes action when the columns affect coastal cities or roads,” Bártoli explained.
In this regard, the environmentalist warned that environmental damage does not wait and accumulates, even if the fire is out of sight.
The fires in the Delta islands occur in a context of alarming water crisis: the Paraná River has not recorded a significant rise since August 2019.
“We are six and a half years in,” noted the NGO’s representative. Although the water level had a slight rise in recent weeks, it was insufficient.
The hydrology of the system is altered by various factors linked to human activity. “A tremendous impact is being made by the waterway that conspires, and the wetland gives clear signs of a structural change,” added Bártoli.
The concerning loss of biodiversity and “pampeanization” of the Delta
The degradation process of the Delta generates visible changes in flora and fauna, aggravated by the fires in the islands.
For example, recently, specialists observed an invasion of plant species foreign to the original wetland ecosystem.
Among them is the pampas thistle, which “is not native to the area, which indicates a change,” exemplified Bártoli. This “pampeanization” turns the wetland into a dry and domesticated plain.
Animal species have also suffered a severe impact:
- Capybara: population decimated by poaching
- Coypu (nutria): reduced to minimal expression in the last three years
- Sabalo: capture of juvenile specimens before the first spawning
- Native fish: scarce data on boga and dorado
“The capybara in our area is a population decimated by poaching,” detailed the environmentalist.
In recent years, the combination of habitat loss, lack of sustained water, and hunting pressure has drastically reduced the coypu.
The fires in the Delta islands accelerate this deterioration. The fire destroys vegetation, disrupts ecological cycles, displaces fauna, and alters the soil, leaving the ecosystem more vulnerable.
The NGO uses satellite monitoring tools from NASA and data from the San Nicolás Museum of Natural Sciences. “The tool provided by NASA’s website was invaluable”, highlighted Bártoli.
The environmentalist recalled that 2021 marked a turning point when the smoke settled in Rosario.
“Today we have some state-coordinated agencies that have more structure, but the resources are still few,” he opined.
Bártoli concluded by demanding national legislation. “The underlying problems persist, and we still lack a national wetlands law that provides protection,” he concluded.
Based on information from El Litoral.
