The Copaíba Environmental Association, which has been working for 25 years to conserve the Atlantic Forest in the Peixe and Camanducaia river basins, has issued an urgent alert to municipal, state and federal authorities about the crisis of illegal burning in the eastern part of the state of São Paulo. With letters addressed to the prosecutors' offices in Amparo (which also serves Monte Alegre do Sul) and Serra Negra, to the Special Environmental Defense Task Force (GAEMA), to the Secretariat of Environment, Infrastructure and Logistics of the State of São Paulo (SEMIL) and to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA), Copaíba requested last month immediate measures to prevent, control and criminalize burning that is devastating native vegetation and directly affecting the local population.

The data is alarming: between August 21 and October 9, 2024, INPE's Burning Program (BD Queimadas) recorded a total of 2,074 fire outbreaks in the municipalities of the Peixe and Camanducaia basins. Amparo (594 outbreaks), Monte Alegre do Sul (382), Serra Negra (348), and Itapira (240) are the most critical municipalities, totaling more than 75% of fire outbreaks in the region. In addition to the loss of fauna, the fires have already compromised more than 2,300 hectares of native forest fragments and areas undergoing restoration. In Monte Alegre do Sul, in the last three months alone, approximately 940 hectares were devastated, including forest fragments in public areas of the APTA Regional de Monte Alegre do Sul.

The situation is even more worrying when one considers the impact on the recharge areas of the Camanducaia River, one of the essential sources for the Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí River Basin (PCJ). More than half of the fires occurred within the Piracicaba Juqueri-Mirim Area 2 APA, including fragments in the headwaters of the future Duas Pontes dam, designed to supply part of the Campinas metropolitan region. The loss of these areas of native vegetation represents a direct threat to the region's water resources and could compromise water supplies in the future.

Given the forecast of high temperatures and more severe droughts for the coming years, Copaíba warns of the urgency of structural actions and calls for rigorous monitoring of the affected areas. “We need structural measures to combat the fires, and these actions need to begin now, both at the municipal and state levels. This includes stronger laws and rigorous monitoring, as well as educational campaigns, mapping the most vulnerable areas and strengthening Civil Defense and local brigades. All of this is essential to ensure that the environmental crimes we saw this year do not happen again, further compromising life in the region,” says Camila Conti, president of Copaíba. There is strong evidence that many of these fires are started by criminal and irresponsible practices, further worsening the environmental crisis.

In addition to threatening biodiversity and wildlife, irregular fires compromise Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs) and harm local communities that depend on groundwater and intermittent watercourses. The destruction of riparian forests and soils leads to lasting economic and environmental losses, and the smoke and pollution resulting from these fires pose serious risks to public health.

In light of this scenario, Copaíba reinforces the importance of preserving and restoring the Atlantic Forest as an essential step to protect water resources, guarantee biodiversity and ensure a healthy life for the region of the Circuito das Águas Paulista. The conservation of these areas is essential to mitigate the effects of climate change, restore affected ecosystems and protect local communities. Copaíba calls on civil society and public authorities to join forces in control, inspection and awareness-raising actions that prioritize combating fires and protecting the remaining Atlantic Forest in the region.