IPS-English ARGENTINA: Fires Heat Up Conflict with Farmers
 
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:18:37 -0700


 
Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Apr 17   (IPS)  - The government and farmers in Argentina,
caught up in a month-long confrontation over an export tax increase,
clashed again Thursday because of the extensive burning of grasslands
that has thrown a pall of smoke over the capital and has even reached
parts of neighbouring Uruguay.

The fires began around 300 km north of Buenos Aires and encompass
an area of 70,000 hectares, 60,000 of which are in the southern part
of the province of Entre Ríos, and the rest in the northern part of
the province of Buenos Aires. 

The smoke caused by 292 separate fires covered the Argentine capital,
and by Thursday morning there was poor visibility on highways and
in cities in southern Uruguay as well, including the capital, Montevideo.

The fires apparently got out of hand when farmers used their traditional
slash-and-burn technique to clear grasslands. Authorities have filed
legal charges against several farmers for environmental damages, but
the investigations have just begun.

The flames further heated up the talks between the government and
the agricultural associations. The farmers continue to insist that
the government roll back the tax hike that triggered three weeks of
protests in March, and are demanding support for the production of
beef, dairy products and grains. But the response by the administration
of Cristina Fernández has failed to satisfy them.

The farmers that have taken the hardest-line stance are in the northeastern
province of Entre Ríos, where Alfredo De Angelis, one of the leaders
of the March protests, warned that if the government did not back
down on the tax increase, the roadblocks would be resumed on May 2.

The three-week farm strike in March involved roadblocks around the
country that stopped trucks carrying food products, causing food shortages
in the cities and driving up prices. The conflict was considered the
worst to hit Argentina since the late 2001 economic collapse that
toppled the government of Fernando de la Rúa (1999-2001). 

Engineer Raúl Brasesco, head of the Experimental Agency of the National
Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) in Entre Ríos province,
explained to IPS that the fires could be the result of a combination
of factors like drought, high winds, abundant grass and the smaller
than usual number of cattle.

”There is a major drought in the area, and a thick layer of grass
formed, that was not grazed because there were fewer head of cattle,
and the high grass is highly flammable,” he said.

The fire broke out on the islands in the Paraná River delta, where
the use of herbicides is banned, and only organic cattle farming and
beekeeping are allowed.

But Brasesco said the ageold slash-and-burn technique used to clear
dry grass and improve pastureland is usually employed at the end of
winter in Argentina. ”Slash-and-burn is not normally used in this
season (the southern hemisphere autumn), but maybe someone used the
technique and the fire got out of hand because of the climatic conditions,”
he speculated.

Diego Moreno, conservation director at the Fundación Vida Silvestre
(Wildlife Foundation), told IPS that although the use of fire is ”a
valid tool” that should not be banned outright, the lack of standards
for regulating the practice can lead to disasters. ”This fire is a
demonstration of the failure to properly manage these practices,”
he said.

President Fernández said the smoke ”is not the product of a natural
disaster but of aspects of human nature like irresponsibility and
irrationality.” She called for an investigation of what happened and
the damages caused, especially with respect to the traffic accidents
triggered by the smoke in the last few days.

Fernández made her speech after flying over the fire zone by helicopter
and after Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo accused farmers of
burning their grasslands ”to reduce costs and maximise profits, regardless
of the consequences.”

The Federación Agraria Argentina, the association that groups small
and medium farmers, immediately complained about the ”political overtones”
of the accusation.

The Federación is one of the four farmers' associations negotiating
with the government new measures to put an end to the conflict that
broke out on Mar. 11.

”The government wants to draw attention away from the central issues
in the debate,” said the vice president of the Federación, Ulises
Forte, who admitted that the fire may have begun when a farmer set
fire to a small pasture and it got out of control ”due to poor management.”

But Randazzo blamed farmers who he said were ”merely seeking to make
a profitàthere is no other reason. The fire got out of hand and they
caused a disaster, but now they don't want to say who was responsible,”
he said.

”This form of clearing weeds and generating environmental chaos must
be investigated,” said cabinet chief Alberto Fernández (no relation
to the president).

Around a week ago, a haze had already been seen for several days
in Buenos Aires, but the authorities had been unable to pinpoint the
source. However, the burning smell returned on Tuesday, and the cause
was identified.

The low visibility caused by the smoke has brought about several
fatal traffic accidents over the last week or so. On Apr. 9, 11 crashes
along a 35-km stretch of highway 9 in northern Buenos Aires left four
people dead. And on Apr. 16, three people were killed in an accident
on the same road.

A dozen highways in the northeastern part of the country were shut
down, several long-distance bus routes were suspended, and a number
of flights were cancelled.

The National Meteorology Service in neighbouring Uruguay issued a
special forecast warning of the smoke Thursday. 


*****
+ INTA Paraná (http://www.inta.gov.ar/parana/index.htm)
+ ARGENTINA: Farmers Declare One-Month Truce (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41838)
+ ARGENTINA: Empty Shelves, Drowned Chicks as Farm Strike Rages (http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41823
 )
+ PARAGUAY:  Hunger Follows Worst Fires in History (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39511)
+ ENVIRONMENT-BOLIVIA:  Slash and Burn - a Smoking Gun (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39706)


(END/IPS/LA DV EN IP/TRASP-SW/MV/DCL/08)


 
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