18. No one survives alone

Location: Argentina, Río Negro province, El Bolsón.
Credit: Pablo Alcorta Briganti
Initiative: Belmont Forum CRAs (ALP 2026)
Project: Ngen – Mawida

Story: No one survives alone. A group of farmers helps the forest fire service by using their horses to transport equipment during a fire. More than 2 kilometers of hoses and pumps were installed in that area.
Northwest Patagonia in Argentina is the area experiencing the most fires in the region. Climate change, the expansion of urban-forest interface zones, and the impact of invasive exotic species are creating a scenario conducive to the increasingly frequent occurrence of very severe fires. In this context, the community is responding very actively, becoming directly involved in fighting the fires, rebuilding the damage, and restoring the forests. A very important characteristic is the diversity of cultures that coexist in the valleys of the Comarca Andina, Located on the border between the provinces of Río Negro and Chubut.

Here, the communities decided to actively participate in addressing the problem, carrying out different actions and taking on different roles. The community response is often more agile than the government’s.