'The forest is the lung of the air we breath' - wildfires ravage Brazilian Amazon

Record ID: 1429502

  • Title: 'The forest is the lung of the air we breath' - wildfires ravage Brazilian Amazon
  • Date: 1st September 2019
  • Summary: RONDONIA, BRAZIL (AUGUST 31, 2019) (REUTERS) SMOKE SEEN RISING FROM FOREST FIRE AT NIGHT SILHOUETTE OF TREE AGAINST ORANGE-GLOWING SMOKE / PAN UP OF SMOKE RISING MEMBER OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THE TENHARIN TRIBE, AURELIO TENHARIN, WALKING THROUGH JUNGLE TOWARDS THE FIRE TENHARIN STANDING IN FRONT OF FIRE BURNING IN FOREST SMALL TREE FALLS AS FIRE BURNS FOREST TREE STUMP BURNING (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) MEMBER OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THE TENHARIN TRIBE, AURELIO TENHARIN, SAYING: "It's sad, the forest is on fire haphazardly. This is the result of a lack of supervision, lack of a commitment from the government. The government says that the NGOs are causing the fire; that's not true. The proof is right here. The animals are dying here, and many things are dying. The forest is the lung of the air we breathe." VARIOUS, FOREST FLOOR ON FIRE VARIOUS, UNDERGROWTH ON FIRE (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) MEMBER OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THE TENHARIN TRIBE, AURELIO TENHARIN, SAYING: "This fire will bring illnesses. It will bring respiratory complications, it will have consequences, and nature has a reaction to this. What is it? The planet is warming." FALLEN LOGS BURNING VARIOUS, UNDERGROWTH BURNING (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) MEMBER OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THE TENHARIN TRIBE, AURELIO TENHARIN, SAYING: "Each tree here means something. They have life just like I do. They need to be saved. We have to save them. Because the Brazilian government isn't here for this." VARIOUS, UNDERGROWTH BURNING TREE LEAVES WITH SMOKE RISING FALLEN LOGS SILHOUETTED WITH FIRE IN BACKGROUND PAN FROM TREE CANOPY DOWN TO FIRE BURNING
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2019 14:25
  • Keywords: damage wildfire fire forest Brazil rainforest burn jungle tribe environment indigenous Amazon smoke
  • Location: RONDONIA, BRAZIL
  • City: RONDONIA, BRAZIL
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Fires,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AUTTPON
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Day and night, fires continue to consume swaths of the normally lush Amazon, killing animals and leading to respiratory illnesses according to the leader of an indigenous group in Brazil's Rondonia state.
    Aurelio Tenharin, part of the leadership of the Tenharin tribe, told Reuters on Saturday (August 31) the fires are killing wildlife and criticized the Brazilian government's for not doing more to combat the blazes.
    Wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest have jumped this year, with 72,843 fires detected so far by Brazil's space research centre INPE, as concerns grow over right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's environmental policy.
    The surge marks an 83% increase over the same period of 2018, the agency said on Tuesday (August 27), and is the highest since 2010.
    Bolsonaro's environmental policies have come under intense scrutiny as images of the burning Amazon have sparked international outrage and concern about the consequences for global warming.
    Through July, destruction of Brazil's rainforest is up 67% compared to the same period a year ago, according to preliminary data released by the country's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Nearly 80,000 fires have been recorded this year through Aug. 24, the highest level since at least 2013, INPE says.
    (Production: Sebastian Rocandio)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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