Dr Erika Berenguer, Senior Researcher at the Environmental Change Institute, warns that efforts to control the Amazon’s escalating fires will continue to fall short without a major shift toward prevention.
In an interview with Sumaúma, the Amazon-based environmental journalism platform, Dr Berenguer and Ane Alencar, Science Director at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, describe the mounting destruction caused by increasingly frequent and intense fires, and reflect on the sexism they have faced throughout their careers as women working on the front lines of forest science.
A landscape of destruction in Belterra, in the state of Pará, following fires
Published during COP30 in Belém, where forest conservation and the future of the Amazon sit at the centre of global climate discussions, the interview outlines how the region is now experiencing fire behaviour with no historical precedent, with severe consequences for biodiversity, carbon storage, and the health of local communities.
Drawing on years of research in Pará, Dr Berenguer explains how extreme droughts are enabling flames to penetrate deep into humid forest that once acted as a natural firebreak. Her work shows that burned areas can lose up to 40% of their carbon stocks and suffer sharp declines across multiple dimensions of biodiversity — impacts that can endure for decades. She also highlights the profound social toll, noting that traditional and rural communities are losing access to essential forest resources and facing worsening air pollution during major fire events.
Researcher Erika Berenguer, in despair during the 2023 fires in Belterra, Pará
Dr Berenguer argues that reactive firefighting alone is no longer enough. She calls for a shift towards prevention measures, improved early-warning systems and stronger science–policy collaboration, alongside support for community-led fire management adapted to rapidly changing climate conditions.
Read the full interview in Sumaúma: Dousing the flames: Two scientists share Amazon fire knowledge
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