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The fire in Cholila has affected 24,000 hectares of forest (photo: Pablo Wegrzyn)
Chubut governor Martín Buzzi announced he will send a bill to the provincial legislature “banning any type of real estate development or commercial activity” in areas affected by bushfires.
The governor said he has already instructed the relevant authorities “not to allow the sale, division, or sub-division [of lands affected by bushfires]” as “we are living a very complex situation in the whole Andean region that we need to stop once and for all.” The new bill, if approved, will ban any kind of development or commercial activity in these lands for a period of ten years.
Buzzi pointed out that a large number of bushfires are allegedly started deliberately in order to profit from the sale of the land, and said these measures aim to put an end to “speculation”.
He also announced the creation of a commission, headed by the provincial Cabinet Chief, “to investigate each and every land transfer carried out” in the last few years. The commission will be able “to give the state the possibility of revoking any land transfer” considered suspicious.
The governor has also instructed the Territorial Development and Productive Sectors Minister, Gabriela Dufour, to “work in the recovery of the Patagonian Andean forest, both introduced and native, as a state policy” with the support of the federal Cabinet Chief, Aníbal Fernández.
A number of fires in the north-west region of the province of Chubut have already affected 34,000 hectares. Speaking about the fire currently burning near Cholila, which has affected some 24,000 hectares of forest, Chubut Civil Defence director, Evaristo Melo, confirmed today that the propagation of the fire in its most critical area, its eastern flank, has been controlled — “an important first step to circumscribe the flames.”
“This is good news, not only for the evolution in the control of the fire, but also for the firefighters’ mood, as it strengthens their spirits facing so much physical and psychological exhaustion,” said Melo to Télam news agency.
“The other good news,” said Melo, “is that the advance of the fire towards the south is very slow, which brings us some relief about another front towards which the flames are moving, which is Los Alerces National Park.”
In total, 550 people from difference provinces are working on containing the Cholila bushfire.
The post Chubut Governor Announces New Measures Following Bushfires appeared first on The Argentina Independent.
