Bolivia’s Environment Ministry reports a severe drought combined with slash-and-burn farming practices have driven an unprecedented number of wildfires. The fires have scorched nature reserves and Indigenous communities in Bolivia’s Amazon and into neighboring Brazil, killing wildlife and triggering air quality alerts that have forced thousands of schools to cancel classes. On Friday, environmentalists rallied in the capital La Paz to demand government action.

Nataly Zamora: “Millions of animals are dying. Our Mother Earth is dying. Our vegetation, fauna and flora are disappearing. There are thousands of animals. The firemen who are there still cannot put out the fire. We want a national emergency to be declared, because we want our land to be safe.”