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Brazil fires threaten world's largest wetland

Brazil's Pantanal -- the largest tropical wetland in the world -- is under serious threat with fires ravaging, approaching the region's main highway.

The fires are nearly five times higher than the same period a year ago and Brazil's national space research agency has registered over 3,100 fires in the first 15 days of August.

It's got the Environment Minister, Ricardo Salles, racing against the clock:

"It's a hot environment, very dry, strong winds and high temperatures. We found several combustion points along the way, places where planes and brigades are helping to extinguish the fires."

He said about 3 thousand people were hired to try and put out the flames that have already razed about 6 percent of the Pantanal from January to July.

The region is one of the most diverse home to threatened species including jaguar and local resident Marcelo Batista says sanctuaries for the blue Hyacinthine Macaw parrots have already gone up in flames.

"The impact (of the fires) is enormous. This is a very large macaw breeding ground as well as that of other animals. I just found a dead deer and a dead monkey. The destruction will be enormous."

The blazes in the Pantanal come amid rising concerns about fires in the Amazon, its much larger neighbour to the north.

Last week, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro denied there were any fires in the Amazon, calling it a "lie" and blaming the media for spreading it.

Although Bolsonaro has dispatched the military to fight the fires since May, environmental experts question whether this is working.