ReliefWeb

SITUATION ANALYSIS

Disaster Description

Although at the beginning of November 2021 there were outbreaks of fires in the provinces of Corrientes and Misiones, they were being contained until an upsurge in January 2022, when the situation, enhanced by droughts, rising temperatures and conditions caused by the "La Niña" phenomenon, became so severe that the Province of Corrientes was forced to declare an Ecological and Environmental Catastrophe Zone1 on 18 February 2022, requiring the mobilization of provincial, national and international resources.

The area affected by fire in the province of Corrientes finally reached 1,042,514 hectares, equivalent to 12 per cent of its territory, with more than 14,000 fire outbreaks that directly and indirectly impacted 124,085 people (almost 10 per cent of the province's population) in 5 of the 25 departments of northeastern Corrientes, with Santo Tomé and Ituzaingó being the most affected: [See p.2]

On 11 March, the last two fire outbreaks were extinguished, which were located in the towns of Alvear and Concepción (east and center of the province, respectively), leaving a series of diverse socio-environmental impacts in sectors such as Livestock (cattle and sheep): Agriculture (rice, yerba mate - Corrientes province generates 30 per cent of Argentina's total production - and citrus fruits); Forestry (Pines, Eucalyptus and Paraisos), including damage to soils; Environment (Considering that Corrientes is one of the provinces with the greatest natural resources and biodiversity including forests and wetlands in the Iberá National Park).