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Help us mitigate wildfires affected ecosystems in Bolivia

Natalia Pabon is organizing this fundraiser.
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My name is Natalia Pabon and I would like to share my experience in the wildfires in Bolivia in order to raise money destined to mitigate the effects of wildfires on animals around the town of Palmarito de la Frontera in La Chiquitania.


Me

I was born in Sucre, Bolivia and raised by wonderful parents who provided me with great opportunities and exceptional values. When I was 16 we moved to the United States, but before we lived in Thailand and Germany. I studied Spanish literature at the University of Maryland and continued my graduate studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC. I got married to my loving husband Juan Pablo after obtaining my Masters degree, and later moved to Houston, Madrid, and in 2020 back to Bolivia with my two daughters.

My Drive

Throughout my life, I heard about wildfires close to the Amazon basin and wondered about the forests and animals that lived there. A few months after arriving in Bolivia I realized that these fires were getting worse every year and that the smoke started affecting cities distant from those fires. In November of 2023, many schools closed across Bolivia due to poor air quality caused by the smoke. My husband and I helped donating some money to the firefighters and people who were helping the affected areas, but it never felt like it was enough. This year (2024) the fire season began early; schools were canceled in July and we still had smoke every day.

A few weeks ago, I started feeling helpless and had the urge of doing something else than donating money, so I started asking how to help. My drive is nature. Since I was young my parents taught me to love and respect it, they showed me how every being is important to our ecosystem and how we are all connected.

My Experience

Last week I contacted a woman from Concepcion (a town in rural area of Bolivia called Chiquitania) who told me she needed someone with a car to go to the affected areas by the fires in order to find wounded animals and get them to shelters. My husband and I decided to help her for the weekend. We raised some money from our friends and arrived late at night on Friday with food for the animals and crates in case we found any of them wounded. On Saturday we went to the forest with Claudia, Emerson (a 17 year old volunteer), and two local men from a community called Palmarito de la Frontera. Our hopes were high.

My goal was to help animals and get information and pictures to build awareness about this ongoing problem. Close to the fires I realized that my involvement had to be greater than that, and also that I needed more help, I needed you.
It was a heartbreaking landscape. It was almost entirely burned out. There were very small areas that escaped the engulfing flames where animals took shelter. We saw a few, and we could tell they were scared, weak, alone. Their water sources, creeks and natural springs, were completely dried up and in ashes. We saw dead animals with burns all over their bodies. Insects like bees flew towards us to drink from our sweat. They did not have where to go. Soon we realized that our priorities changed. For two days we set up water troughs in specific areas where there was water before in the hope of animals finding it before dying of dehydration. We also carried fruits and seeds for them, even chicken for small wildcats to avoid them from eating the surviving animals. The thermometer marked 41 degrees Celsius, but we were walking on hot coal and next to extinguishing flames from the fallen trees left to burn. It was a matter of time.

On the second day we went back to all the hydration and food posts we set the previous day. Most food was intact. We had a happy moment when we realized most of the chicken had disappeared. We helped a wildcat! We did not stay for long because we did not want to scare the birds that were getting close by. Our guide Pedro, a man from Palmarito de la Frontera told us that animals can smell water. You could feel his despair hoping to find some water in the creeks, but I cannot describe his disappointment after realizing nothing was left. From time to time I had to ask him to walk slower. Besides carrying heavy weights of water and food, we did not know how to walk inside the forest and we could easily get lost. We did not get far into the woods; it was too dangerous and the other volunteers were children aged from 14 to 18. We couldn’t risk their lives or ours. We heard trees falling and the sound of wood cracking and burning.

Have you ever been close to a campfire? Try to imagine setting off its fire and visualize whatever is left. Right now, more than 4 million hectares look just like that. The only difference is knowing that millions of creatures perished in those flames, that the surviving animals will very likely die of wounds, hunger, and thirst. That the smoke released from the wildfire is infinite times denser. What would you do if you had a baby or child living in those conditions for over two months? I would have gotten out of there on the first day. Unfortunately, people from those communities do not have anywhere else to go. Local men and women received basic firefighting training and are now tackling the fires without rest. I´ve seen one man who had been fighting big fires for more than two days. You could tell he did not sleep. His face was no longer pale, it was something else, a greenish color. His eyes were as red as you can imagine, like about to explode, and he barely had the energy to speak. He told us he was too tired to keep battling the flames, so instead he was going to get food for the others. The only thing we had left to give him was rehydrating drinks and my half-used bottle of eye drops. He did not accept all we offered, instead he asked Pedro to drop the rehydrating salts to the other firefighters. We searched for them but couldn’t get close to where they were. The smoke was too thick and the fire too big. Locals try to extinguish fires at night because of the heat and wind of the day, although lately they have been working around the clock. They do it with basic equipment, shovels and small machinery borrowed from landowners. They make small trenches to avoid the fire from spreading, but their efforts just buy them some time because the winds spread sparks of fire and sometimes trees on flames fall to the other side.
There is no rest for them, their home is in danger, their families are suffering. Most children experience symptoms of severe dehydration and smoke intoxication (diarrhea, vomits, headache, and confusion) but their health post lacks medicine and the community from clean water. One of our volunteers told us that children as young as 17 are taking turns to keep watch at the fires and inform if they are spreading. At twenty they find themselves against the biggest of the flames.

Time to go home. Time to act.

With mixed feelings we said our farewells to Pedro and his father Jesus, but we promised to be back soon with more help. I cannot unsee what I have experienced over the weekend. I thought I was strong, but I find myself weeping now and then. I cannot sleep because I see fire when I close my eyes. It was only two days, I cannot start to imagine the scars it leaves on the people facing that reality for over two months.

The government did not declare the wildfires a national emergency yet. However, according to the newspaper El Deber and Los Tiempos, a plane with 11300 liters of water capacity arrived from Canada (https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/con-la-llegada-del-avion-cisterna-electra-tanker-arrancara-nueva-etapa-para-combatir-incendios_385561), another similar and a helicopter with 1000 liters arrived from France together with experts and firefighters from Spain (https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20240921/bolivia-recibe-avion-cisterna-helicoptero-combatir-incendios). Finally something, but not even close to what we really need.


My Plan

With all the money collected from donations I want to:

1. Donate water and food sources so they are constantly replenished. We set them up in areas where animals are used to going so we are certain they will come back.

2. Support the community with immediate needs, such as appropriate boots to enter burning forests, face masks for smoke, helmets, gloves, goggles, food, hydrating salts, eye drops, etc. It is the local community who takes care of their surroundings. In order to do so their basic needs have to be met.

3. Restore as many water springs as we can by digging wells in strategic areas which would replenish much of the water supply. The so-called Dry Forest of La Chiquitania has water deep under the surface. These aquifers can provide enough water to restore natural springs, until the ecosystem is partially restored.

4. Once the fires are extinguished, replant surrounding areas to the water springs with trees native to the area. Trees prevent large temperature increases and cut winds which may cause wildfires in the future. Trees also provide animals with food and shelter to the wildlife, and aid in decreasing the effects of droughts.

5. Educate people from the area about the dangers of hunting the species of animals that survived the fires.

6. Cover part of the expenses related to previous mentioned activities.


Reality Check

I know I cannot extinguish fires or walk miles inside the forest in search for animals. I know I cannot make the pain and destruction go away with donations. I also know that together we can help provide food and water to the surviving animals. Make sure that the community that looks out for them is in good condition to do so. I am certain that together we can restore parts of the ecosystem that is now in ashes.


Transparency pledge and Evidence of Your Support

I commit myself to constantly post evidence of purchases in aid to the wildfires problem, document and make public all transactions. I will work in collaboration with communities and experts present in the area.


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Natalia Pabon
Organizer
Potomac, MD
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