According to the analysis, tensions between the national and local governments hindered emergency responses while policies aimed at aggressively expanding industrial agriculture have dried out large areas of the country, leaving ecosystems vulnerable to fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those policies included laws that legalized past illegal land clearings, authorized the use of fire in agricultural activities and opened Indigenous territories to intensive agriculture and livestock operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expansion of agribusiness in Bolivia is closely linked to the increase in forest fires and deforestation,\u201d the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neither Bolivia\u2019s Ministry of Environment and Water nor the country\u2019s consulate in New York responded to requests for comment. But the national government has long championed<\/a> poor countries\u2019 right to develop while calling<\/a> on rich countries\u2014the largest contributors to climate change\u2014to provide financial support for developing countries\u2019 conservation efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report follows Palummo\u2019s December visit to Bolivia, where he toured impacted areas and met with government officials, communities and civil society groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n Citing research from Global Forest Watch, Oxfam and academics, the report said agricultural and livestock expansion were responsible for nearly all of Bolivia\u2019s deforestation in recent years. Soybean production and cattle ranching have boomed over a 23-year period ending in 2019, with about 7 million hectares of forest converted to single-crop plantations during that time. Much of that activity happened in Santa Cruz province, the epicenter of last year\u2019s fires.\u00a0<\/p>\n Deforestation is linked to more frequent and intense fires because tree loss disrupts the forests\u2019 natural cooling and water cycling process. Trees draw water through their roots and release moisture from their leaves. Clearing land throws this cycle out of balance, resulting in drier, more drought-prone conditions.<\/p>\n According to the report, Bolivia\u2019s fires reached an unprecedented scale last year, with hot spots emerging earlier than usual and fires spreading more rapidly than ever before. In all, 10 million hectares burned with dangerous smoke reaching as far south as Buenos Aires in Argentina.\u00a0<\/p>\n Climate change\u2014to which Bolivia has contributed very little\u2014has also played a role in drying out forests. Numerous scientific studies have established<\/a> a link between climate change and worsening drought conditions, as well as rising temperatures, which contribute to longer and more intense fire seasons.<\/p>\n Rich nations like the United States and countries in Europe are some of the biggest historical emitters of the greenhouse gases warming the planet. Those countries also previously decimated much of their forests and other ecosystems to generate wealth. The United States, for example, has lost<\/a> 90 percent of its original forests since the 17th century, replacing much of that land with single-crop plantations and urban development.<\/p>\n Those strategies for growth are \u201cincreasingly incompatible with a safe and sustainable future under climate change,\u201d Palummo told Inside Climate News in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a classic climate injustice,\u201d he said, with nations that have contributed relatively little to global warming facing some of the worst climate disasters. They find themselves torn between the need to grow economically and the escalating impacts of climate change that are not of their own making.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation underscores how countries like Bolivia are essentially caught in a trap: the traditional extractive path to development is now directly imperiling their people due to the climate crisis,\u201d Palummo said.<\/p>\n He pointed to other structural factors that he said are worsening the problem, including foreign investment protections<\/a> that complicate efforts to fight climate change and long-term under-investment in rural and Indigenous territories that hinder governments\u2019 ability to respond to disasters.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Bolivia, Indigenous communities that have largely opposed the degradation of the forest were the most severely affected by last year\u2019s fires, according to the report.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of fires and the climate crisis, indigenous peoples have suffered losses that are difficult to calculate,\u201d the report said, emphasizing the link between the peoples and their territories. \u201cThe loss of land and natural resources not only compromises their subsistence economy, but also represents a direct threat to their survival.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The report noted \u201cenormous concern\u201d about the uncontacted Ayoreo Indigenous peoples who reside in a region affected by the fires.<\/p>\n This story is funded by readers like you.<\/p>\n Our nonprofit newsroom provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. Please donate now to support our work.<\/p>\n Donate Now<\/a> <\/p>\n Last year, Inside Climate News reported from the Bolivian Amazon on one Indigenous community\u2019s fight<\/a> against the fires, and the industrial agricultural plantations that have infringed on its territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n Palummo in his email said Indigenous and rural communities face a double vulnerability: They are disproportionately impacted by climate change and also largely excluded from the benefits of industrial extractivism.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn our region the extractive model tends to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few,\u201d he said, referring to Latin American countries. \u201cThe revenues it generates rarely translate into structural improvements for the broader population, especially not for those living in the territories directly affected by extractive activities.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet those communities hold critical knowledge of ecosystems and sustainable development possibilities, Palummo said. \u201cThese perspectives are not only culturally relevant, but have proven effective in sustaining ecosystems over generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the report\u2019s other findings:\u00a0<\/p>\n More than 145,000 children and teenagers were affected by forced displacement, school closures, families\u2019 lost livelihoods and exposure to smoke. Their ailments included respiratory problems, inflamed eyes, dehydration and diarrheal diseases. Thousands more adults were treated for similar health problems linked to the effects of the fires.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fires destroyed staple crops, while cows, pigs and other animals raised for food were burned alive or starved because pastures were destroyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fire-ravaged areas paralyzed subsistence hunting and fishing, with animals either fleeing or dying. Food cultivation is expected to face long-term challenges due to fire damage<\/a>. Thousands of families required food assistance and other aid.<\/p>\n Rivers polluted by the widespread use of agrochemicals and illegal goldmining were further contaminated by the fires\u2019 ash and debris while scorched earth impeded the soil\u2019s ability to absorb rainfall and replenish groundwater.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report also noted that dozens of endangered and endemic species\u2014including blue-bearded parrots, tapirs and giant armadillos\u2014along with other wildlife lost habitats or died in the flames and smoke. Incinerated grasslands and old-growth forests released climate-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n Bolivia\u2019s responses to fires included issuing disaster declarations, deploying fire brigades and the military more than 800 times and distributing humanitarian aid and medical care.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese reactive approaches, based primarily on emergency interventions, tend to overlook the structural causes driving the recurrence of wildfires, such as land-use change and unsustainable agrarian dynamics,\u201d the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report called on Bolivia to adopt a national fire management plan that includes ecosystem-based knowledge, is aimed at preventing fires from starting in the first place and incorporates the participation of Indigenous and rural communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report also recommended that Bolivia repeal laws and policies that incentivize land-use change and deforestation, and that the government commit to performing environmental and social-impact assessments for all activities impacting people and ecosystems.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In his emailed statement, Palummo notes that the report makes the case for rich countries to meet their commitments to international climate financial funds. Countries like Bolivia need more resources to move from extractive development models while navigating growing climate risks, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/BoliviaTreeLoss750px.png\"\/)
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