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While there is much discussion surrounding agricultural and property losses, what about the toll on the environment, and the reduction of carbon credits.
APAMO representative says it is more than a million.
Jose Perez, Executive Director, APAMO
"When you enter a protected area what you will find is pristine broadleaf trees, vegetation and that is what has been burning in mostly the Elijio Panti in the Rio Bravo Conservation and management area and some protected areas down in the south up to now. Without the figures of those in the South we estimate that it is over 10,000 acres of pristine forest that has been burnt and is still burning. In Tapir if you try to put a figure to the environmental damage and ecological damage at 400 acres that were burnt earlier this week it was estimated at 2 million dollars so do the math for over ten thousand acres."
Relief Effort Will Get A Supplementary Allocation
After crunching the numbers and listening to the multiplicity of perspectives at today's Disaster Risk Management meeting, one thing stands out among others, the need to ensure preparedness in the event that another disaster strikes. Though the government has released half a million dollars from the contingency fund, there will also have to be a supplementary budget allocation.
Minister Perez used it as an opportunity to praise the Prime Minister who just brought him back to Cabinet.
Andre Perez, Minister or Blue Economy
"The most important thing is that the government of the day the cabinet recognizes that it is a crisis, it is a disaster area. And in fact I want to commend the prime minister because he was away on official duties and he cut his trip short upon realizing abroad that this was serious and he came by and he joined us and we took him on our reconnaissance to realize how much the disaster has been with the fires. So in terms of manpower we must talk about leadership in terms of where we move forward. We are talking about a supplementary budget as well which has been approved which is half a million dollars more or less and certainly more has to be approved."
