Drawing the right conclusions from data

Wildfires in Latin America are apparently becoming more deadly and destructive every year. Why are we failing to combat them adequately?

Climate change has been discussed and analysed in great depth across Latin America. But decisions have not been taken on the policies needed to address it, especially to facilitate adaptation. In Chile, for example, only one percent of fires have been responsible for more than 80 % of the area destroyed since 2014. Those fires are usually accompanied by high temperatures and present a nationwide logistical challenge. In light of the information available and empirical evidence, we should prepare for this small number of highly destructive fires. But we have been dragging our heels. Preparing for that one percent calls for changes in firefighting logistics and a prompt and vigorous response capability.

Do you see other similarities at Latin American level?

One thing we have in common is that we do not systematically draw conclusions from data. We know climate change is happening but that has not made us better prepared, even at the local level. We need to start training more people connected with local governments.

How do you view the lack of a coordinated response to common challenges?

It would not be fair to compare us with the northern hemisphere, because countries there have the best logistics internationally. Latin America still lacks that. In Chile, for example, fires cannot yet be fought from the air at night, which means that fires continue to spread during the hours of darkness. However, we can learn from the cooperation we see in the United States, Canada and the European Union. Nothing like that exists here yet. We need to strengthen horizontal cooperation – cooperation between equal partners at the same political level – and think, in particular, of countries that are protagonists of a global problem, as is the case with Brazil and Bolivia shaping the impacts on the Amazon region.

Michel De L’Herbe is an expert in emergency management and one of South America’s most renowned specialists in fighting major fires. He heads the consultancy firm Emergency Management MGMT.
michel@mgmt.cl