Flames return to the Pantanal, scientists fear disaster

One year ago, Brazil’s Pantanal — the world’s largest wetland area — endured the most severe wave of fires in its history. Over the space of three months, authorities reported over 21,000 blazes, many of them in isolated and hard-to-reach locations. Footage of animals being burned alive shocked the world.

Last week, the flames returned to the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, home to the lion’s share of the Pantanal. In conservation areas and tourist spots Bonito and Jardim — on the outskirts of the wetland — fires have been destroying natural vegetation for the last six days.

Bonito is among Brazil’s most famous eco-tourism destinations, with the local industry preserving the region’s natural beauty by organizing controlled visits to rivers,...