Fires fuel fears of species loss.

PPBio coordinator  Bill Magnusson is interviewed for an online newspaper article China Daily Global. September 5, 2019.
 
"Most of the flora and fauna was already dead or dying before the match was lit," said William Magnusson, senior researcher at the biodiversity unit at the National Institute for Research in the Amazon, in Manaus, Brazil.
 
"Fires can spread through the surrounding forest, which will not appear dead on satellite images until next year."
 
Thousands of animals die every year in intact forests, but "the problem is that deforestation means that they will not be replaced," he said. "Conservationists also appreciate the efforts of firefighters, but just fighting fires this year ... is not enough."
It is important that the government "show that it will not tolerate illegality" and that it will make the political decisions difficult and necessary to halt and reverse deforestation, said Magnusson.
 
 

Here is the link to the story.