Dimensionamento das perdas de vida selvagem em incêndios florestais amazônicos no município de Humaitá

Abstract

In the municipality of Humaitá in 2022 the indices are a record of hot spots, according to historical data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which recorded 1175 active hot spots. In Brazil, most of the work carried out on fire addresses issues related to plant adaptation to the effects of fire, nutrient dynamics and description of fire behavior. Thus, it is necessary to understand where and when forest fires occur, and their main causes, because, by knowing these factors, an effective means can be established to prevent or minimize their consequences on the fauna. Therefore, the present work aimed to identify the causes of forest fires/burning, and to estimate the number of animals killed by these natural/anthropogenic risks in the municipality of Humaitá in the period from 2018 to 2022. Between 2018 and 2022, 528 occurrences were recorded by the fire department. The results showed that 88% of the affected areas occurred in the dry period between July and October. The main cause was “burning for cleaning” with 95%, statistically higher than the other causes. With regard to fauna, the data obtained show that wildlife (fauna) is not considered an environmental asset and, therefore, there was a low number of animals seen, rescued and attended to as a result of the fires. In the last five years, only two cases were recorded, showing that the fauna is not relevant as an environmental asset or the collection of information in the field to promote rescues is inadequate. These results reinforce the need for environmental education programs to make the population aware of biodiversity conservation.