São Paulo's nature reserves have been severely impacted by devastating wildfires, with many animals suffering burns and requiring urgent care.
The forest fires in São Paulo, Brazil, have ravaged vast areas of nature reserves. As official reports, more than 9,700 hectares have been destroyed as of Oct 9.
The fires have created a dire situation for the local wildlife, forcing many animals out of their natural habitats. Some of these animals have been transported to recovery centers for treatment.
At the São Bento Mountain Recovery Center, one of the 26 centers in the region, staff have been overwhelmed by the influx of injured animals.
According to a center representative, between Aug 24 and Oct 8, the center has received 31 animals affected by the fire, which is an unprecedented number in such a short period.
Upon arrival, the animals are often in weak health, suffering from severe burns, dehydration, and malnutrition. Specialists created personalized recovery plans to help the animals regain strength and weight.
The rehabilitation process is delicate, as each species has unique needs. Experts carefully select the release sites based on the animal's habits and the environment that best suits its survival.
As wildfires continue to pose a threat to the region, the São Paulo state government has urged citizens to contact local fire and environmental authorities if they encounter injured wildlife.
Wildfire in Sao Paulo's reserve causes massive burns of animals
A Chinese envoy on Friday called on the international community to provide timely, targeted, and constructive assistance to support Central African countries in pursuing a development path tailored to their own national conditions.
At a meeting on the Central African issue held by the UN Security Council, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Geng Shuang said that China hopes that political factions in the countries concerned will step up dialogue and consultation, bridge differences, consolidate consensus, and steadily advance the political process.
The Chinese side also noted that though the security situation in Central Africa has eased somewhat, security challenges, including the persistent and grave threat from terrorism, the ongoing threat to regional security by terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, and the emerging spillover of the conflict in Sudan, the prominent problem of weapons diversion, and increasing conflicts over resources are all difficult to be effectively addressed by any single country alone, Geng stressed.
China supports Central African countries to strengthen the concept of a community of common security, deepen coordination on security affairs, enhance security mechanisms, and foster synergy to safeguard regional security, Geng said.
The international community should keep up its investment in security in Central Africa and support the countries in the region in jointly buttressing their security defense, he noted.
"We need to help countries in the region achieve development. For historical and practical reasons, Central African countries are still confronted with prominent development challenges. Expeditiously embarking on the fast track of development is not only an urgent task common to countries in the region, but also the key to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty leading to chaos, which in turn perpetuates poverty. The international community should step up its response to humanitarian appeals for Central Africa while strengthening assistance for the economic development and livelihood in these countries," said Geng.
At the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in September in Beijing this year, China put forward 10 partnership actions in support of Africa's development such as granting zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of tariff items of products from all least-developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including 33 African countries.
The moves will greatly benefit Central African countries, injecting strong impetus into the region's development, Geng noted.
China calls on int'l community to help Central African countries achieve development
