Bolivia declares national disaster due to wildfires

The Bolivian government declared a national disaster Monday due to raging wildfires that have destroyed more than 7 million hectares of forest and grassland in the eastern region of Santa Cruz alone. The measure seeks to "protect the environment, the health, the life of people and the biodiversity," Minister of the Presidency Maria Nela Prada said, noting that Bolivia can now request technical and financial assistance from international organizations. Prada said the measure also enables public agencies to make necessary changes to their budgets to contract goods or services in case of disasters and emergencies. According to Bolivian President Luis Arce, two loans are being processed in the country's congress to address the emergency. One amounts to about 75 million U.S. dollars from the Andean Development Corporation, and the other comes to 250 million U.S. dollars from the Inter-American Development Bank. The funds, he said, will be used to contract more planes to put out the fires, as well as provide h ealthcare, rebuild damaged houses and guarantee food security. Source: The Namibia News Agency