Minister of Sustainable Development, Orlando Habet, reiterated that most of the fires are caused by farmers who don't monitor the blaze after they light it. He conceded though that there was a lack of monitoring from the government as well, and added that his Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture will have to start working together to prevent a similar disaster next time around - and that solution may include a stop order on agricultural fires.

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
"Many of them have gotten away because there isn't proper vigilance on their own but also because from our side, from the government's side, we need to ensure that when a person gets a permit, that they also fit the conditions and requirements for that permit. You can't just set the fire and go away. And so it will need maybe more personnel to do the vigilance. Right now the permitting is done through the Ministry of Agriculture, I would hope that it would be through the Forestry Department, I think we have more capacity and have the experience in dealing with forest fires, it is something that Cabinet will have to decide or something that we can work together, both the Forest Department and the Ministry of Agriculture but it can't continue like this. I'm happy - I wasn't here - but I'm happy that the press conference was held. We heard from not only the government sector but also the private sector in the losses that we have in terms of the trees and the forest but the biggest loss in our biodiversity, the ecosystems that are lost when we have these devastating forest fires. As a matter of fact, lsat night I was communicating with the people who do the management of the Chiquibul and there's still some small fires in the Chiquibul Forest and in the Chiquibul National Park and I think very small fires in the Vaca Reserve also. Yesterday, we were still outing fires in Santa Familia, today we will still go back and check because there were like three fires during the week. So it's devastating, the smoke is terrible, the air quality is really poor so we don't advise, and I think the doctors have advised for people who do their exercise in the morning or evening to be very cautious because it can affect them."

"I think one recommendation that I can make that at a certain time during the year, I think that what we will have to do is not allow any fires at all, not even agricultural fires because we can't continue like this."

We note that during the COVID SOE of 2020 the Department of Environment did put out a regulation prohibiting the burning of bush; milpa, agricultural fields; pasture; grass; or any type of vegetation.