27 Global News Post 2

Wildfires are razing native forests and peatlands in Tierra del Fuego

[Fires raging in Tierra del Fuego]. (2022). Chile Today. https://chiletoday.cl/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/incendiotierradelfuego-960×540.jpeg

This article describes the untamed wildfires that are currently devastating the southern Tierra del Fuego, which oddly enough, literally translates to Land of the Fire. This land is inhabited by a vast selection of wildlife, as well as the indigenous group, Selk’nam. The fires started on January 25th of this year, and have been raging ever since. So far, about 250 hectares of land have been burned through. Threatened land includes the Karunkinka National park, peatlands, and ancient ancestral lands, sacred to the Selk’nam people.

Allegedly, the Selk’nam people have claimed that the government is doing very little to protect them and their land. They have historically been oppressed in Chile. Originally, the fire was only coded as a yellow alert, even though crucial land was either destroyed of being threatened. Recently, it has been upgraded to a red alert, but the Selk’nam are still extremely dissapointed in the efforts made by the government.

Not only is Chile being affected, but the rest of the world is at risk. The endangered peatlands store more carbon than all of the forests in the world. Furthermore, these wildfires are not unique to Chile. All of South America has recently been experiencing a significant increase in forest fires, as well as various parts of North America. These fires are affecting wildlife, resources, and indigenous groups.

In the article, the information appears to come from multiple sources. The author talks about multiple Chilean groups, including The Selk’nam Community Organization in Chile, The Wildlife Conservation Society in Chile, and a Chilean governor.