Railroad could reduce Amazon deforestation relative to proposed highway
mongabay.com
March 24, 2008
Building a railroad instead of improving a major highway could reduce deforestation and
biodiversity loss in the heart of the Amazon rainforest says an Brazilian environmental group.
The Institute for Conservation and Sustainable Development of Amazonas (IDESAM),
together with the state of Amazonas, have teamed up to host a debate on the paving of BR319, a highway that links the capital cities of Manaus and Porto-Velho, but is presently
impassable. Environmentalists say that paving the road could increase deforestation pressures
in Amazonas, a state where 98 percent of the forest is still intact.
Instead, IDESAM and Amazon propose building a railway system between the cities.
"Building a railway system would have considerably less impact, avoiding a great deal of the
forest loss predicted for the future, while still achieving the economic benefits associated with
improving the transportation infrastructure within the Brazilian Amazon," said IDESAM in a
statement.
The railroad would facilitate the
transport of goods from Manaus,
a major manufacturing center, to
the rest of Brazil. At the same
time a railway could avoid the
deforestation associated with the
establishment and improvement
of road networks. Settlers, land
speculators and developers often
use roads to penetrate previously
inaccessible forest areas: data
from Brazil's Ministry of the
Environment show that from the
1970s to the end of the 1990s,
approximately 75 percent of the
deforestation in the Amazon
occurred near paved roads.
This map demonstrates that deforestation up to 2006 (light yellow) is concentrated along
roads and waterways. Source: Soares-Filho et al., (Unpublished), based on data from the
PRODES Program, Brazilian National Institute for Space Studies
Still, there is intense pressure from development interests to pave the BR-319. Through the
Avança Brasil program, Brazil has proposed $43 billion in infrastructure improvement and
expansion projects in the region through the year 2020. Improved infrastructure can improve
the economic viability of logging, cattle ranching, and agricultural products like soybeans and
sugar cane.
Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0324-amazon.html#juOGVm05ZeV4Q1gy.99
TREE-974; No of Pages 4
Forum
New strategies for conserving tropical
forests
Rhett A. Butler1 and William F. Laurance2
1
2
Mongabay.com, P.O. Box 0291, Menlo Park, CA 94026, USA
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
In an interval of just 1–2 decades, the nature of tropical
forest destruction has changed. Rather than being dominated by rural farmers, tropical deforestation now is
substantially driven by major industries and economic
globalization, with timber operations, oil and gas development, large-scale farming and exotic-tree plantations being the most frequent causes of forest loss.
Although instigating serious challenges, such changes
are also creating important new opportunities for forest
conservation. Here we argue that, by increasingly targeting strategic corporations and trade groups with publicpressure campaigns, conservation interests could have a
much stronger influence on the fate of tropical forests.
Introduction
Tropical forests are the Earth’s biologically richest ecosystems and play vital roles in regional hydrology, carbon
storage and the global climate [1,2]. Yet destruction of
tropical forests continues apace, with some 13 million
hectares of forest felled or razed each year [3]. Although
this rate has not changed markedly in recent decades [3],
the fundamental drivers of deforestation are shifting –
from mostly subsistence-driven deforestation in the
1960s through 1980s, to far more industrial-driven
deforestation more recently [4–6]. This trend, we assert,
has key implications for forest conservation.
From the 1960s to 1980s, tropical deforestation was
largely promoted by government policies for rural development, including agricultural loans, tax incentives and
road construction, in concert with rapid population growth
in many developing nations [4–6]. These initiatives, especially evident in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia,
prompted a dramatic influx of colonists into frontier areas
and frequently caused rapid forest destruction. The notion
that small-scale farmers and shifting cultivators were
responsible for most forest loss [7] led to conservation
approaches, such as Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDP), that attempted to link nature
conservation with sustainable rural development [8].
Many, however, now believe that ICDPs have largely failed
because of weaknesses in their design and implementation
and because local peoples typically use ICDP funds to
bolster their incomes, rather than to replace the benefits
they gain from exploiting nature [9–13].
More recently, the direct impact of rural peoples on
tropical forests appears to have stabilized and could even
Corresponding author: Laurance, W.F. (laurancew@si.edu).
be diminishing in some areas. Although many tropical
nations still have quite high population growth, strong
urbanization trends in developing nations (except in
Sub-Saharan Africa) mean that rural populations are
growing more slowly, and in some nations are beginning
to decline (Figure 1) [14,15]. The popularity of large-scale
frontier-colonization programs has also waned in several
countries [5,16,17]. If such trends continue, they might
alleviate some pressures on forests from small-scale farming, hunting and fuelwood gathering [18].
At the same time, globalized financial markets and a
worldwide commodity boom are creating a highly attractive environment for the private sector [5,6]. As a result,
industrial logging, mining, oil and gas development and
especially large-scale agriculture are increasingly emerging as the dominant causes of tropical forest destruction
[6,19–22]. In Brazilian Amazonia, for instance, large-scale
ranching has exploded, with the number of cattle more
than tripling (from 22 to 74 million head) since 1990 [23],
while industrial logging and soy farming have also grown
dramatically [24,25]. Surging demand for grains and edible
oils, driven by the global thirst for biofuels and rising
standards of living in developing countries, is helping to
spur this trend [19,26,27].
Although we and others are alarmed by the rise of
industrial-scale deforestation (Figure 2), we argue here
that it also signals emerging opportunities for forest protection and management. Rather than attempting to influence hundreds of millions of forest colonists in the tropics –
a daunting challenge, at best – proponents of conservation
can now focus their attention on a vastly smaller number of
resource-exploiting corporations. Many of these are either
multinational firms or domestic companies seeking access
to international markets [6,19–22], which compels them to
exhibit some sensitivity to the growing environmental
concerns of global consumers and shareholders. When they
err, such corporations can be vulnerable to attacks on their
public image.
Confronting corporations
Today, few corporations can easily ignore the environment. Conservation groups are learning to target corporate transgressors, mobilizing support via consumer
boycotts and public-awareness campaigns. For example,
following an intense public crusade, Greenpeace recently
pressured the largest soy crushers in Amazonia to implement a moratorium on soy processing, pending development of a tracking mechanism to ensure their crop is
0169-5347/$ – see front matter . Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.05.006 Available online xxxxxx
1
TREE-974; No of Pages 4
to favor more-sustainable timber products [29]. Under
threats of negative publicity, RAN has even convinced
some of the world’s biggest financial firms, including
Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank
of America, to modify their lending and funding practices
for forestry projects [30].
Recent trends are making it easier for conservation
groups to sway resource-exploiting industries. Because
of economies of scale, multinational corporations often
find it more efficient to concentrate their activities in just
a few large countries, thereby reducing the number of
geographic areas that conservation groups must actively
monitor. Moreover, many industries, motivated by fears of
negative publicity, are establishing coalitions that claim to
promote environmental sustainability among their members. Examples of such industry groups include Aliança da
Terra for Amazonian cattle ranchers [31], the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil in Southeast Asia and the Forest
Stewardship Council for the global timber industry. Hence,
rather than targeting hundreds of different corporations,
conservationists can have a big impact by striking just a
few industrial pressure points.
Corporations are also being swayed by carrots as well as
sticks. Firms that buy into sustainability enjoy growing
consumer preferences and premium prices for their ecofriendly products. According to industry sources [32], for
example, ‘green’ timber products – those produced in an
environmentally sustainable manner – accounted for $7.4
billion in sales in the United States in 2005, and are
expected to grow to $38 billion there by 2010. Such rewards
might have greater leverage with multinational corporations, which must attempt to keep their international
consumers and shareholders happy, than with local firms
operating solely in developing countries [33].
Figure 1. Changing urban (red) and rural (blue) populations in major Latin
American, Asian and African tropical nations, respectively, from 1950 to 2030,
using estimates and future projections from the UN Population Division [14].
coming from environmentally responsible producers [28].
Earlier boycotts by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN)
prompted several major U.S. retail chains, including
Home Depot and Lowe’s, to alter their buying policies
2
New challenges
The rising impact of corporate deforesters also has serious
downsides. Industrialization can accelerate forest destruction, with forests that once were laboriously hand cleared
by small-scale farmers now being quickly overrun by bulldozers. Moreover, industrial activities such as logging,
mining and oil and gas developments promote deforestation not only directly but also indirectly, by creating a
powerful economic impetus for forest-road building. Once
constructed, such roads can unleash uncontrolled forest
invasions by colonists, hunters and land speculators
[20,21,24].
Another big problem is that not all markets respond to
environmental priorities. In many developing nations,
environmental concerns are being swamped by burgeoning
demands from a growing middle class. For instance, Asian
consumers have so far shown little interest in eco-certified
timber products [34], unlike consumers in North America
and especially Europe. Moreover, as prices for raw
materials soar, an all-out scramble for natural resources
could ensue, rendering environmental sustainability a
mere afterthought to meeting growing needs.
Finally, even an abundance of eco-conscious consumers
cannot guarantee good corporate behavior (see Box 1).
Many corporations have been accused of ‘greenwashing’
– producing ostensibly green products that actually have
TREE-974; No of Pages 4
Figure 2. Changing drivers of deforestation: small-scale cultivators versus industrial road construction in Gabon, central Africa (photos by W.F.L.).
little environmental benefit. In the tropical timber industry, for instance, some dubious, industry-sponsored groups
have tried to compete with legitimate eco-certification
bodies such as the Forest Stewardship Council [35]. Tracking products from the forest to final consumers – via chains
of middlemen, manufacturers and retailers – can also be
maddeningly difficult. For example, Greenpeace [36]
recently revealed that food giants such as Nestlé, Procter
and Gamble, and Unilever were using palm oil grown on
Box 1. Challenges for eco-certification
In the tropics, as elsewhere, eco-certification schemes face some tall
hurdles. Even when customers favor eco-friendly products, ecocertification can be hampered by corruption and weak governance,
ineffective measures to ensure environmental sustainability and
leakage of noncertified products into markets.
For instance, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), often viewed
as the gold standard for certification of wood products, has been
heavily criticized by some environmental groups [40]. Critics say
FSC certification of products from ‘mixed sources,’ such as furniture
derived only partly from certified wood, hurts its credibility.
Certification of some dubious timber schemes, such as plantation
monocultures on former forest lands, has also harmed the label [40].
Last year an inquiry by the Wall Street Journal forced the FSC to
effectively revoke certification of the Singapore-based Asia Pulp and
Paper Company because of its environmentally damaging activities
on the Indonesian island of Sumatra [41].
Corruption and fraud are also concerns. Collaboration with
corrupt officials allows some companies to falsely certify their
products, whereas other firms have claimed to have certification
when they do not. A recent report on illegal logging in Southeast
Asia, for instance, revealed that at least two major furniture firms
were marketing products as eco-certified when they had no such
label [42].
Another challenge is properly evaluating the sundry activities of
international timber corporations. Eco-certifiers have been accused
of focusing too narrowly on logging operations inside core
conservation areas while ignoring damaging operations elsewhere
[40]. In addition, timber corporations frequently buy timber from
various sources and subcontract to other firms, and it can be very
difficult to determine whether these subsidiaries and partners are
engaged in damaging logging [36].
Finally, some critics argue that even eco-certified timber operations are rarely sustainable in the long term. Repeated logging of
old-growth forest can reduce carbon stocks and degrade habitat for
forest specialists, thereby threatening biodiversity [1]. Further,
logged forests are more vulnerable to desiccation, fires and
deforestation than are unlogged areas [24,43].
recently deforested lands, despite assurances to the contrary from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Such
complications reward cheaters and diminish the benefits
for corporations that make a good-faith effort toward sustainability.
The future
Despite such complications, conservationists must learn to
deal effectively and forcefully with the corporate drivers of
tropical deforestation. Such drivers will certainly increase
in the future because global industrial activity is expected
to expand 300–600% by 2050, with much of this growth in
developing countries [37]. For their part, an increasing
number of corporations are realizing that environmental
sustainability is simply good business. In light of such
trends, we see much need for dialogue and debate among
industrial, scientific and conservation interests in the
tropics.
Aside from the influence of environmental groups, the
impacts of industry will also be mediated by government
policies and by international agreements, such as the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. For instance, massive U.S.
government subsidies for corn ethanol are currently creating market distortions that promote deforestation in the
Amazon [23], whereas international carbon trading could
eventually slow rapid forest destruction in certain
countries [38,39]. Because such policies can change rapidly
and have far-reaching implications, conservationists
ignore them at their peril.
Change is upon us. On the one hand, rapid globalization
and industrial farming, logging, mining and biofuel production are emerging as the dominant drivers of tropical
deforestation. On the other hand, growing public concerns
about environmental sustainability are creating important
new opportunities for forest protection. By targeting
strategic industries with consumer-education campaigns,
conservation interests could gain powerful new weapons in
the battle to slow harmful forest destruction.
Acknowledgements
We thank Thomas Rudel, Robert Ewers, Susan Laurance, Katja Bargum
and three anonymous referees for many helpful comments.
3
TREE-974; No of Pages 4
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Oil road transforms indigenous nomadic hunters into commercial poachers in the Ecuadorian Amazon - Pr... Page 1 of 3
Please consider the environment before printing | PDF version
Oil road transforms indigenous nomadic hunters into commercial poachers
in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Jeremy Hance
mongabay.com
September 13, 2009
Oil company in Ecuador transforms indigenous community into commercial poachers,
threatening wildlife in a protected area
The documentary Crude opened this weekend in New York, while the film shows the
direct impact of the oil industry on indigenous groups a new study proves that the presence
of oil companies can have subtler, but still major impacts, on indigenous groups and the
ecosystems in which they live.
In Ecuador's Yasuni National Park—comprising 982,000 hectares of what the researchers call
"one of the most species diverse forests in the world"—the presence of an oil company has
disrupted the lives of the Waorani and the Kichwa peoples, and the rich abundance of wildlife
living within the forest. By building a 149 kilometer (92 mile) road through the protected
forest and providing subsidies to the local tribes, the oil company Maxus Ecuador Inc.
transformed some members of the tribes from semi-nomadic subsistence hunters into
commercial poachers.
"We’ve found that a road in
a forest can bring huge
social changes to local
groups and the ways in
which they utilize wildlife
resources," said Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS)
researcher Esteban Suárez,
lead author of the study.
"Communities existing inside
and around the park are
changing their customs to a
lifestyle of commercial
hunting, the first stage in a
potential overexploitation of
wildlife."
According to the new study
by the WCS and the IDEASUniversidad San Francisco
The collared peccary made up 7.3 percent of the hunted mammals, birds,
de Quito in Ecuador, the
and reptiles in the study. It's close relative the white-lipped peccary made
up 47.9 percent. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS.
creation of the single road
allowed tribe members to
transport game to a market where it is sold illegally. In addition, the subsidies and free
access to the road, all provided by the oil company, make the transportation of the meat—
and thereby the wild meat market itself—economically viable.
Although sale of wild meat and products in Ecuador is illegal, the researchers report that
"local authorities and park rangers know about the market, [but] they lack the resources and
political will to stop the illegal trade of wildlife in Pompeya, primarily to avoid conflicts with
the local indigenous population."
Some communities of the
Waorani tribe even
abandoned their traditional
semi-nomadic life and built
settled villages along the
http://print.news.mongabay.com/2009/0913-hance_ecuador_oil.html
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Oil road transforms indigenous nomadic hunters into commercial poachers in the Ecuadorian Amazon - Pr... Page 2 of 3
road for easy transport of
their game. They took up
firearms (instead of the
traditional blowguns), which
became more prevalent
following the arrival of the
oil company.
"These changes," the
authors explain, "are
amplified by patronizing
relationships in which large
companies buy their right to
operate in the area by
providing local communities
with resources, money or
Peccary legs. Wild meat fetched prices double that of domestic in the area.
infrastructure without
Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS.
consideration of the social
and ecological impact of these 'compensation plans'".
The study published in Animal Conservation found that the wild meat market appeared
shortly after the road was constructed in early 1990s and free travel was given to the
indigenous tribes. Between 2005 and 2007, 11,000 kilograms (24,000 pounds) of wild meat
were sold at the Pompeya market every year. The amount of meat sold every day doubled
between 2005 and 2007, from 150 kilograms (330 pounds) to 300 kilograms (661 pounds).
"While the magnitude of the wildlife trade occurring at Pompeya is still limited, its emergence
and continuous growth are symptomatic of the dramatic changes that the area is
experiencing under the influence of the oil industry and the absence of effective management
and control strategies," the authors write.
The most commonly
targeted animals for the wild
meat harvests were pacas,
white-lipped peccaries,
collared peccaries, and
woolly monkeys. These four
species made up 80 percent
of the mammal, bird, and
reptile meat collected, while
fish, primarily caught by the
Kichwa, tribe made up 30
percent of all the species'
total.
According to the researchers
the availability of cheap
travel for the tribes was the
An oil truck on a barge in the Napo River near Yasuni National Park Photo
largest factor in creating the
by: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS.
presence and size of the
illegal market, while the demand for wild meat in restaurants spurred on the trade. Sixtynine percent of the meat was bought by middlemen—who consistently knocked-up the price
around 60 percent. These middlemen then transported the meat to restaurants and markets
as far away as 234 kilometers (145 miles). Consumers in the area were found to be willing to
pay double for wild meat than what they would pay for domestic.
"A simple, seemingly inoffensive road can have far-reaching effects on a landscape and its
people," said Dr. Avecita Chicchón, Director of WCS’s Latin America and Caribbean Program.
"It provides hunters with more access to a wider range of forest while providing a low-cost
transportation route to markets. More importantly, it plugs communities more easily into the
larger economic world while creating increased demand for numerous species of animals. It
is the road to unsustainability."
Citation: E.Suarez, M. Morales, R. Cueva, V. Utreras Bucheli, G. Zapata-Rios, E. Toral,
J.Torres, W. Prado & J. Vargas Olalla. Oil industry, wild meat trade and roads: indirect effects
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20/05/2013
Indigenous groups oppose priest pushing for road through uncontacted tribes' land - Print
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Indigenous groups oppose priest pushing for road through uncontacted tribes'
land
Commentary by: David Hill, special to mongabay.com
April 19, 2012
A view of Puerto Esperanza. Photo by: David Hill.
A grassroots indigenous organization in Peru is calling for the removal of an Italian Catholic priest
from the remote Amazon in response to his lobbying to build a highway through the country’s
biggest national park.
The park, in the Purus region in south-east Peru, was founded with the WWF’s support and is
home to at least two groups of indigenous people living without any contact with outsiders, often
called "uncontacted."
The priest, Miguel Piovesan, has been vigorously promoting the highway in his parish magazine,
on the parish radio and even during mass in the local church. The parish website features a photo
of a sign reading, "WW, GET OUT OF PURUS NOW," "WW" being local short-hand for the WWF.
But FECONAPU, an indigenous organization based in Purus's only town, Puerto Esperanza, is firmly
against the road.
It calls Piovesan’s lobbying a "disinformation campaign" and says he has "insulted," "mocked,"
"humiliated" and "defamed" Purus's indigenous residents opposed to his plans.
"For years indigenous people in Purus have been the object of constant mockery and humiliation
from the Catholic church’s representative, who has been obsessively trying to build a highway
between Puerto Esperanza and Inapari," says FECONAPU, which represents 47 indigenous
communities in Purus and claims the priest’s lobbying has created "marked ethnic tension" in the
region.
FECONAPU is now demanding Piovesan’s removal and is urging national indigenous organization
AIDESEP to raise the matter with his superiors at the Apostolic Vicariate, which falls under the
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Indigenous groups oppose priest pushing for road through uncontacted tribes' land - Print
Page 2 of 3
immediate responsibility of the Vatican, in a town in Peru’s south-east.
Piovesan, from Italy’s Veneto region, refused to comment, but a spokesman said the "uncontacted
tribes 'made him laugh'."
The priest has previously denied the existence of the tribes, leading one critic to describe him as
"believing in the existence of God but not in indigenous people who live in voluntary isolation."
FECONAPU is also calling for an investigation into Piovesan’s "real motives," and, according to
AIDESEP, it has announced it will march in protest against him.
"Purus’s indigenous population is against the highway," says FECONAPU’s Flora Rodriguez Arauso.
"The people who want it are the priest and a few mestizos who actually live in Pucallpa."
Piovesan argues the highway would bring "development," "freedom" and cheaper goods to Purus.
At present, the region is so remote its only connection with the rest of Peru is by plane.
But the director of the national park, Arsenio Calle Cordova, has dismissed these claims, saying
the highway is about opening up the otherwise inaccessible forest to loggers in search of valuable
timber.
The Upper Amazon Conservancy, an American NGO working in the region, warns the highway
could lead to "exponential increases in illicit resource extraction" including drug trafficking, mining
and poaching as well as logging.
Piovesan, who claims support from some local people, is fiercely critical of his opponents, both in
Peru and abroad.
In the latest edition of the parish magazine, Purus is described as "the property of polluting
countries in the First World which, under a facade of 'protected areas,' are really protecting their
own selfish, inhumane interests."
"The majority of indigenous people in Purus, as well as local and even national authorities, believe
the construction of this road would be extremely worrying," says Jorge Herrera from the WWF,
which continues to support the national park’s protection. "It is not a road that would solve Purus’s
isolation, but a strong government presence."
If built, the highway would connect to the Inter-Oceanica road system running all the way from
Brazil’s Atlantic coast to Peru’s Pacific.
In addition to the national park, called by the WWF "a vast portion of the Amazon in its original
state," the highway would cut through Purus’s Communal Reserve and a reserve for ‘uncontacted’
people in the Madre de Dios region.
Piovesan’s position is in stark contrast to that adopted by other Catholic clergy in Peru in recent
years.
In a statement titled ‘The Catholic church’s role in the Peruvian Amazon’ made in 2010, the
president of Peru’s Conference of Bishops committed his organization to promoting peace and
warned against allowing powerful economic interests to exploit natural resources at the expense of
others and the environment.
"It’s reprehensible that a representative of God should adopt this kind of attitude," says ORAU, an
indigenous organization, based in Pucallpa, to which FECONAPU is affiliated. "It’s an attitude that
is far removed from his role as an evangelist and quite different from what is recommended by the
Catholic church."
Last month a delegation from Peru’s Foreign Relations Commission visited Purus to hold a public
meeting and announced it would push for the highway’s construction in Congress.
The meeting was condemned by FECONAPU, AIDESEP and the national park’s management
committee, which complained many indigenous people could not attend or understand what was
being said.
Opposition to the highway centers on the impact it would have on local people, including the
uncontacted groups, and the rainforest.
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"It’s the largest protected area in the country and it now runs a serious risk of being invaded by a
highway which threatens to destroy the lives of thousands of indigenous people by exposing them
to the dangers of drugs trafficking, illegal logging, and unwanted contact," says AIDESEP.
Some of the uncontacted people at risk are known as the ‘Mashco-Piro.’ Photos of a different
‘Mashco-Piro’ group made world headlines earlier this year after they were published by Survival
International.
"It’s an outrage that in the face of massive indigenous opposition plans for this road continue to
push ahead," says Survival’s Rebecca Spooner.
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Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while
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conservation and development.
Copyright mongabay 2009
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Industry-driven road-building to fuel Amazon deforestation
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
March 12, 2008
Unofficial road-building will be a major driver of deforestation and land-use change in the Amazon
rainforest, according to an analysis published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
Improved governance, as exemplified by the innovative MAP Initiative in the southwestern
Amazon, could help reduce the future impact of roads, without diminishing economic prospects in
the region.
Roads in the Amazon
Road-building spurs forest development in the Amazon by providing access for loggers, land
speculators, ranchers, farmers, and colonists to otherwise remote wooded areas. Beyond
facilitating deforestation, roads affect forests and biodiversity by fragmentation, which increases
vulnerability to forest fires and has other negative ecological consequences.
Still, roads are seen as an expedient way to expand extractive industries and promote agricultural
expansion in the Amazon. As such, roads are increasingly funded and built by interest groups,
especially the agroindustry and logging sectors. These "unofficial" roads complement existing
government-sanctioned roads originally built under economic development schemes in the 1970s
and 1980s. Industry also exerts pressure on lawmakers to fund road improvement projects, like
the paving of highways. These improvements further promote the expansion of unofficial road
networks, which improve the economic viability of resource extraction and agricultural production
in once inaccessible areas. Improved economic viability provides greater incentive for more roadbuilding and the cycle continues.
Reviewing the economic drivers of road-building in the Amazon, Stephen Perz and colleagues
conclude that breaking the road-building feedback cycle will require improved governance. The
authors cite the MAP Initiative in the southwestern Amazon as a model that could be used
elsewhere in the Amazon to rein in and reduce the negative environmental impact of the unofficial
roads, which are presently expanding at a significantly faster rate than official road networks in the
region.
Government road improvements spur expansion of unofficial roads
The authors note that "distinguishing between official and unofficial roads in the Amazon reveals an
important synergy: paving of official roads motivates unofficial road building."
"Paving raises land values, which provides the incentive to exploit natural resources farther out
from official road corridors. This in turn is made possible via construction or extension of unofficial
roads, which then generate income that facilitates additional road building. This synergy poses a
dilemma for environmental governance in the Amazon," they write.
"On the one hand, official paving projects enjoy considerable political support and unofficial road
building is crucial for local livelihoods. On the other hand, new infrastructure without environmental
governance will probably lead to forest fragmentation and social conflicts. Such outcomes not only
undermine the sustainability of current local livelihoods but also render forest more vulnerable to
climate change, threatening future livelihood sustainability."
Perz and colleagues say these issues have "prompted the discussion of new models of
environmental governance" in the Amazon and cite the MAP Initiative as "an example of an
innovative hybrid approach to environmental governance."
MAP: A model for governance
'MAP' refers to the trinational frontier area between Bolivia, Brazil and Peru that is "incurring largescale infrastructure investments for the Inter-Oceanic Highway", a project that will connect Pacific
Ocean ports to the heart of Amazonia with a paved highway. Projections for the region suggest the
plan could have a detrimental impact on the environment: under a "business-as-usual" scenario,
roughly 67 percent of MAP's 300,000 hectares of forest cover and 40 percent of its mammalian
biodiversity will be lost by 2050.
The authors say the MAP Initiative is working to avoid this fate by building capacity across national
borders for tri-national environmental governance in what they call a "polycentric network".
"The MAP Initiative has organized tri-national forums open to the public for presentations, dialogue
and planning activities involving four key themes: economic development, environmental
conservation, social equity and public policies," they write. "This multifaceted array of themes
allows for consideration of the many impacts of roads as well as climate change."
"The underlying strategy of the MAP Consortium is to premise trans-boundary environmental
governance on sustaining an autonomous, polycentric structure that does not rely on a single
centralized authority such as a government, or on a fully decentralized, uncoordinated network
such as a set of local communities," they continue. "By retaining flexibility while ensuring
coordination, the MAP Consortium constitutes a structure for collaborative environmental
governance that can manage itself adaptively in order to respond quickly to rapid changes."
Stephen Perz, a sociologist at the University of Florida, says the initiative — the planning process
for which links scientific data to public deliberations involving industry, NGOs, local communities
including indigenous groups, and state bodies — will help ensure proper governance no matter the
future circumstances in the region.
"The Inter-Oceanic Highway is bringing major changes to the southwestern Amazon, but it needs
to be seen in the context of many other challenges, including other infrastructure projects, notably
the Madeira Dam Complex, as well as climate change itself," Perz told mongabay.com via email.
"The southwestern Amazon faces opportunities as well as perils due to economic integration -- such
as growing investment from outside the Amazon in sugar cane and petroleum -- or from climate
variability, which in recent years has included drought and fires (2005) as well as floods (2006 and
right now in February 2008). This complex circumstance has strengthened recognition of shared
interests and concerns among communities and local governments on all three sides of the MAP
frontier. That has resulted in annual tri-national MAP [forums], open to the public, to broaden
participation in planning for more sustainable resource management via a polycentric network."
The same polycentric network concept could be applied in other parts of the Amazon where
pressure from roads is likely to rise. The net effect: a reduction in deforestation, biodivesity loss,
and conflict over land.
Stephen Perz et al (2008). Road building, land use and climate change: prospects for
environmental governance in the Amazon [FREE OPEN ACCESS]. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, DOI:
10.1098/rstb.2007.0026
Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0312-perz_amazon.html#CD4jMSaa7Tte615G.99
Ple as e c o ns id e r the e nviro nme nt b e fo re p rinting | PDF ve rs io n
NGO: conf lict of int erest s behind Peruvian highway proposal in t he Amazon
Jeremy Hance
mongabay.com
May 16, 2013
As Peru's legislature debates the merits of building the Purús highway through the Amaz on
rainforest, a new report by Global Witness alleges that the project has been aggressively pushed
by those with a financial stake in opening up the remote area to logging and mining. Roads built in
the Amaz on lead to spikes in deforestation, mining, poaching and other extractive activities as
remote areas become suddenly accessible. The road in question would cut through parts of the
Peruvian Amaz on rich in biodiversity and home to indigenous tribes who have chosen to live in
"voluntary isolation."
If built, the Purús highway would run 270 kilometers (167 miles) from Puerto Esperanz a in Ucayali to
Iñapari in Madre de Dios, bisecting Peru's Alto National Park, the Purús Community Reserve and
the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve. According to the Global Witness report, the road would
violate "Peru's laws on protected areas."
However, the road has a number of influential supporters, including an Italian priest in the region,
Miguel Piovesan, who first proposed the road's construction in 2004. Piovesan claims that those
who oppose the road are denying economic development for local indigenous groups. In addition
he says that isolated tribes do not exist in the area, despite evidence to the contrary from Peru's
National Park service.
But even the Global Witness report admits that the region is one of the most neglected in the
country, likely due to a combination of remoteness and a very small population.
PDFmyURL.com
Aerial view of deforestation stemming from the controversial TransOceanic highway in the Peruvian
Amazon. The major highway cuts through the rainforest in Brazil and Peru. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
"There is no doubt Purús needs development, according to the report. "73 percent of Purús homes
do not have electricity and those which do only have access for five hours a day. A fifth of the
population is illiterate, one of the highest rates in the country. There are only seven health posts
and ten hospital beds in the whole province. Life expectancy and human development indicators
are within the lowest 20 percent of all districts in Peru whilst per capita income is just US$85 a
month."
But Billy Kyte, campaigner with Global Witness, says that while no one disputes needs for
development in parts of the region, the road is not the solution.
"It is crucial that investment comes to the isolated Purús region to improve services for the
population, but there are important questions to be answered over who this project would actually
benefit. The huge social and environmental costs that would result from this new highway have not
been properly assessed and Congress should vote it down," he notes. According to the report
subsidiz ed and increased airfare could play a major role in alleviating poverty in the region without
the road.
PDFmyURL.com
The report alleges that the build- up to the road project reaching the legislature has been marred
by conflict- of- interests, illegal contracts for timber, discrimination against indigenous people, and
even bribery.
"A representative of the Federation of Native Communities of Purús Province (FECONAPU), the
organiz ation representing Purús' indigenous communities, was offered a bribe of 30,000 Soles
(around US$10,000) by a local government official to support the road construction," the report
reads.
Global Witness also says that Purús municipality had already begun logging the proposed road
area, even though the project has not been improved.
The NGO recommends that Peru's congress immediately suspend the highway bill and investigate
possible conflict- of- interests connected to the legislation.
Map of proposed highway. Image: Rocio Medina/La Republica. Image courtesy of Global Witness.
PDFmyURL.com
Innovative program seeks to safeguard Peruvian Amazon from impacts of Inter-Oceanic Highway - Print
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Innovative program seeks to safeguard Peruvian Amazon from impacts of
Inter-Oceanic Highway
By: Ryan King, special to mongabay.com
March 06, 2012
An interview with Arbio
Left bank: Arbio's concession area. Photo by: Arbio.
Arbio was begun by Michel Saini and Tatiana Espinosa Q. in the Peruvian Amazon region of Madre
de Dios. The project focuses on a protective response to the increased encroachment and
destructive land use driven by development. The recent construction of the Inter-Oceanic Highway
in the Madre de Dios area presents an enormous threat to forest biodiversity. Arbio provides
opportunities to help establish a buffer zone near the road to limit intrusive agricultural and
deforestation activities.
Michel Saini is an Italian Environmental Engineer at the Polytechnic of Milan. In 2003 he traveled
to Chile to study Forestry Engineering and learn what a real forest felt like. After this experience
he decided to devote himself to the study and conservation of forests in Latin America. He moved
to Costa Rica in 2007 and completed a Masters in Management and Conservation of Tropical
Forests at CATIE, specializing in politics and governance of natural resources. In CATIE he meets a
classmate, Tatiana Espinosa Q., Peruvian engineer in Forest Sciences at the UNALM, Peru. Her
interest in the Amazon led her to work in the Madre de Dios region since 2003 on issues of
Conservation, Wildlife and Management of non timber forest products. In 2009, after concluding
the program, they traveled together to Madre de Dios and in 2010 Arbio was born. For more
information, visit their website.
INTERVIEW WITH ARBIO
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The Madre de Dios region is characterized by the world's highest diversity of butterflies. There are
over 1200 species. Photo by: Arbio.
Mongabay: What sorts of programs does Arbio plan to introduce in order to support local
economies while avoiding the destruction of the forests and biodiversity in the Madre de Dios
region?
Arbio: We plan to introduce the concept of productive conservation, which is a concept of
coexistence of society with the rainforest ecosystem. Our project includes the introduction of the
Analog Forestry method, which is the exact opposite of a monoculture: Is a culture with 20 or
more species in the same hectare, with different height and age and nutritional requirements.
Fertilizers are no longer necessary, when we find the correlations between the nutrients needed
and produced by each culture. This method seeks to maintain a functioning ecosystem dominated
by trees while providing non-timber products (Brazil nuts, medicinal plants, Amazon fruits, etc.)
and maintain a wildlife habitat. In this way, we seek to empower rural communities socially and
economically through the use of species that provide commercial products. This system is
completely integrated with the landscape, emphasizing the biodiversity to ensure sustainable
production and operation is based on ecological considerations and ecosystem restoration.
Mongabay: What are some of the most commonly seen animals in your area?
Arbio: Among the mammals we have the mighty jaguar (Panthera onca), tapir (Tapirus
terrestris), “sajinos” or wild pigs (Pecari tajacu), hundreds of herds of peccaries (Tayassu
peccary). In the river can be seen the capybara - the largest rodent in the world (Hydrochoerus
hydrochaeris), deer (Mazama sp), nocturnal animals such a chozna (Potos flavus), armadillos
(Dasypus novemcinctus), and a variety of monkeys including the howler monkey (Alouatta
seniculus), white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons), night monkeys (Aotus sp.), and tamarins
(Saguinus sp.).
Among the reptiles have the white caiman (Caiman crocodylus), the "taricaya" aquatic turtle
(Podocnemis unifilis), tortoise (Geochelone denticulata), a variety of boas and snakes, lizards, etc.
Among the birds we have the second largest species of the macaw (Ara chloropterus), the largest
stork in South America: the Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria), toucans (Ramphastos cuvieri), the most
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powerful bird of prey: the Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja), also egret (Egretta thula), guan (Mitu
tuberosum), pucacunga (Penelope jacquacu).
In addition to a wide variety of arthropods such as butterflies (this region has the world record in
butterfly species diversity), beetles, centipedes, spiders, ants that measure 4 cm, among others.
Mongabay: Could you describe Arbio’s system of land rental of forested area by the hectare for
conservation and research purposes?
Arbio: Our project is funded entirely by individuals, through our web platform rentals. Any
Internet user can choose their own hectare by seeing a satellite photo of each hectare of our base
area and make a rental-for-conservation process which costs only US$42/year. Hectares chosen
automatically come into the category of "absolute conservation" which means that only the local
wildlife and our caretaker can enter, however, as the project progresses and the models of
productive conservation will be implemented, we will connect by email the people who are
protecting hectares in strategic locations (near the base camp or the trails) asking if they want to
change their land’s use from absolute conservations to productive conservation. In short, the land
use change possibility is only for strategic hectares and for those who want to give researchers the
opportunity to test sustainable organic farming and/or medicinal plants following the model of the
Analog Forestry, or to perform research related to the wildlife. Any details will be discussed with
the tenant on a case by case basis. And if the tenant does not agree, the hectares will continue in
absolute conservation, of course!
Mongabay: What are some of the major threats posed by the construction of the Inter-Oceanic
Highway?
Arbio: The threat is historical and
well documented. The same
Inter-Oceanic Highway, in the
Brazilian soil, led to deforestation
of 50 Km of each side of the road
in 20 years after his construction.
If we don’t do anything, the same
thing will happen in our region
too, only at a faster rate, because
everything is growing and getting
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faster in this endless-growth way
of life. The threat is the actual
system of what is seen as
“development.” Extensive
monoculture just doesn’t work for
society or for the ecosystem.
Very few people can work in
extensive agriculture and fewer
people really benefit from the
immense fields. Deforestation is
everywhere and fires and smoke
can be seen from kilometers
away.
The Brazilian agro industry now
can transport products directly to
the Pacific coast avoiding a large
trip from his Atlantic coast to the
mayor markets: China and India.
Additionally, the low price of land
compared to Brazil, together with
cost savings of Customs and the
closer proximity to the Pacific will
make the Peruvian Amazon the
goal of the main industries of
monocultures.
Mongabay: Are conservation
initiatives such as Arbio able to
out-compete competition by
extractive industries such as gold
mining and monoculture
plantations in the tropics?
Concession area. Photo by: Arbio.
Arbio: The answer to this
question relies on the education of the actual land-owner and their capacity of long-term thinking.
The current land tenure system in the Peruvian Amazon, a system of concessions granted by the
state, is actually helping our job, even if some laws are against sustainability. Having the
concession of a land for 40 years, renewable and heritable allow the tenants to think in long-term
solutions for support themselves and their families, and selling the land or deforesting for
monoculture is an absolutely short-term solution. They know that most of people that have sold
his land are now living in the peripheries of the capital without a way of living, and the people who
have transformed they land to a monoculture are now paying banks and fertilizers suppliers, with
little or no benefit to their way of life. We offer for free a way of living close to their ancestral
traditions but embedded in the actual market and granting sustainability in the future, not only
with the Analog Forestry method of culture but also with the insertion in the Fair Trade Market and
the future Payment for Environmental Services, when this opportunity will be available. Long-term
thinking is our way to gain actual way of development.
For more information, visit www.english.Arbioperu.org.
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Roads are enablers of rainforest destruction - Print
Page 1 of 6
Please consider the environment before printing | PDF version
Roads are enablers of rainforest destruction
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
September 24, 2009
Chainsaws, bulldozers, and fires are tools of rainforest destruction, but roads are
enablers.
Roads link markets to resources, enabling loggers, farmers, ranchers, miners, and land
speculators to convert remote forests into economic opportunities. But the ecological cost is
high: 95 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon occurs within 50-kilometers of a
road, while in Central Africa, where logging roads are rapidly expanding across the Congo
basin, the bulk of bushmeat hunting occurs near roads. In Laos and Sumatra, roads are
opening last remnants of intact forests to logging, poaching, and plantation development.
But roads also cause subtler impacts, fragmenting habitats, altering microclimates, creating
highways for invasive species, blocking movement of wildlife, and claiming animals as
roadkill. A new paper, published in Trends in Evolution and Ecology, reviews these and other
impacts of roads on rainforests. Its conclusions don't bode well for the future of forests.
Examining a large
body of scientific
literature, William F.
Laurance, Miriam
Goosem and Susan
G.W. Laurance write
that roads "can have
an array of
deleterious effects on
tropical forests and
their wildlife" in the
form of biological and
socioeconomic
impacts. The latter is
a far greater threat to
forests.
BR-230 highway near Rurópolis, Brazil in the heart of the Amazon. Image courtesy
Over the past half
of Google Earth
century road
networks have expanded across the tropics, opening remote forests to development. Once
prompted primarily by political objectives such as national security, alleviating population
pressures in cities, and rural development, roads are increasingly built by private interests —
loggers, miners, and agribusiness — seeking access to resources and land. These "unofficial"
roads complement existing government-sanctioned roads, amplifying their already
substantial impact. Industry also exerts pressure on lawmakers to fund road improvement
projects, like the paving of highways. These improvements further promote the expansion of
unofficial road networks, which improve the economic viability of resource extraction and
agricultural production in once inaccessible areas, attracting colonists and speculators, who
cut and burn forests, hunt, and introduce alien species. Improved economic viability provides
greater incentive for more road-building and the cycle continues.
Roads in the Amazon
The Brazilian Amazon is prime example of how roads have spurred large-scale change in the
rainforest. Extensive deforestation began in the late 1960s when the Brazil's military
government launched development programs to promote colonization in the region. The plan,
which sought to provide economic opportunities for landless poor from crowded parts of the
country and establish a national presence in the vast and sparsely populate interior, offered
subsidized loans to settlers and ranchers, and funded ambitious highway projects like the
Trans-Amazonian highway.
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While the TransAmazonian largely
failed to meet its
economic and social
goals, it did open up
large tracts of
previously
inaccessible rainforest
land to development.
Vast stretches of land
were cleared for lowintensity cattle
pasture and shortterm subsistence
agriculture. Despite
laws restricting landclearing to 50 percent
of a settler's holdings,
deforestation rates
climbed from
negligible to more
than 20,000 square
kilometers per year in
the 1980s. Giant
infrastructure
projects—notably
dams—facilitated
development in the
region, while logging
spurred the growth of
unofficial road
networks and
subsidized agricultural
expansion that has
Forest clearing and development near Tailândia, Brazil. Image courtesy of Google
helped turn Brazil into
Earth
the world's largest
exporter of many farm products. Its emergence as a global agricultural superpower has
today created in Brazil a strong political block that lobbies for new infrastructure
developments in the Amazon. With tens of billions of dollars now allocated to projects,
including improvement of existing roads and construction of new highways, the future of the
Amazon is increasingly linked to globalized markets, including demand for commodities.
But road impacts in the Amazon are not limited to Brazil. Peru is putting the finishing touches
on the Carretera Transoceanica, a highway that will connect the heart of the Amazon to
Pacific ports. The project, which is largely funded by China and Brazil, will create an export
pipeline for timber, minerals, and agricultural products to the world's fasting-growing
consumer. Oil, gas, and mining companies are already setting up shop in the area,
sometimes in conflict with indigenous groups and protected areas. Meanwhile roads are also
extending into key forest areas in Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and other parts of
Peru.
Outside of Latin America, major roads projects are planned or under construction in a
number of tropical forests areas. Among others, the authors note the Trans-Congo Road in
Democratic Republic of Congo, a 1600-km road that will cut southeast to northwest across
the Congo Basin providing access to timber and minerals; the North–South Economic
Corridor, a 1500-km highway across Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar; the Leuser
Road Plan, a network of more than 1600 km of major and minor roads in northern Sumatra;
and the Mamberamo Basin Road which will run 1400 km through primary rainforests in
northwestern New Guinea (Indonesia).
Limiting damage from roads
Aside from restricting development of new roads from frontier forest areas, there are limited
options for mitigating the impacts of road expansion. Current efforts focus on measures
taken in advance of road construction. For example, the Juma Sustainable Development
Reserve Project for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation aims to curb
forest clearing along the AM-174 and BR-319 highways by establishing a network of strict
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Page 3 of 6
protected areas along the roads. The project is financed by a forest carbon fund on the basis
that it will reduce emissions from deforestation by 190 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2050
compared to a business-as-usual approach.
The authors also highlight
other mechanisms for
minimizing road impacts,
including regulating
access to roads,
promoting railroads when
possible, requiring proper
environmental impact
assessments prior to
construction, limiting road
width and gradient,
restricting tree clearing
along roads, and banning
night-time driving. But in
the end, the authors
conclude that "actively
limiting frontier roads... is
by far the most realistic,
cost-effective approach to
promote the conservation
of tropical nature and its
crucial ecosystem services."
Roads in the Brazilian Amazon. Courtesy of Digital Earth.
William F. Laurance, Miriam Goosem and Susan G.W. Laurance. Impacts of roads and linear
clearings on tropical forests. Trends in Evolution and Ecology (TREE) 1149 1–11
Comments (0)
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Analyzing Landsat satellite images of 4 million square miles of Central African rainforest acquired between 1976 and
2003, a team of researchers led by Dr. Nadine Laporte of the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) mapped nearly 52,000
km of logging roads in the forests of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo,
and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They found that road density has increased dramatically since the 1970s and
that around 29 percent of the remaining Congo rainforest was "likely to have increased wildlife hunting pressure because of
easier access and local market opportunities" offered by new logging towns and roads.
"Roads provide access, and this research provides clear evidence that the rainforests of Central Africa are not as remote as
they once were .a bad thing for many of the species that call it home," said Jared Stabach, a researcher at WHRC and a coauthor of the paper.
Roads appearing fastest in Republic of Congo,
but DRC is next frontier
The authors report that the highest logging road
densities were in Cameroon and Equatorial
Guinea, while the most rapidly changing area was
in northern Republic of Congo (Brazzaville),
where the rate of road construction more than
quadrupled--from 156 kilometers per year to over
660 kilometers--between 1976 and 2003. The
scientists found evidence of new frontier of
logging expansion in DRC, which has just
emerged from nearly a decade of civil war.
"It has never been timelier to monitor forest
degradation in Central Africa because there is still
Logging road density in Congo countries.
an opportunity to make a significant difference in
reducing the amount of deforestation. The Democratic Republic of Congo contains most of the remaining forest and is the
last frontier for logging expansion in Africa," said Laporte.
Selective cutting still damaging; certification offers
hope
The authors note that more than 600,000 square
kilometers of forest are presently under logging
concessions, while just 12% of the area is protected.
Most logging in the area is focused on selective
harvesting of high-value tree species, like African
mahoganies, for export, rather than clear-cutting.
Monitoring the expansion of logging in last dense humid forest of
Central Africa is not only important for biodiversity
conservation but also for climatic change. Industrial logging in
Central Africa is the most extensive land use with more than 30
percent of the forest under logging concession and the clearing of
these forests could significantly increase carbon emissions.
-Woods Hole Research Center
Laporte says that selective cutting is increasingly driven by demand from European firms for certified timber, a trend that
could eventually slow forest loss and degradation in Central Africa.
"In central Africa, Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) has been adopted by many companies during the past 5 years under the
pressure of European markets for certified wood," Laporte told mongabay.com. "It has definitely improved logging
operations of large European logging companies; most of them have now adopted forest management plans, though small
companies are still behind, struggling with the associated costs... [and] maybe just lack of interest, since they can sell noncertified wood to Asia and other countries that do not care much about certification."
"I think that the future of many tropical forests is linked to our success of making people in Asia and elsewhere supportive
of certification," she continued. "Education is key, and the media can play an important role. The info is there, but we need
to reach the big consumers."
Logging and the bushmeat trade
A number of studies have linked logging roads to the bushmeat trade. In April, Science reported higher incidence of
elephant poaching in close proximity to logging roads, while a May 2006 Conservation Biology study showed that roads
and associated hunting pressure reduced the abundance of a number of mammal species including duikers, forest elephants,
buffalo, red river hogs, lowland gorillas, and carnivores in the tropical forests of Gabon. Commercial hunting to meet
market demand in cities and overseas is a greater threat than subsistence hunting.
Laporte says that simple rules can reduce impact of logging roads on wildlife including: closing the logging road to traffic
following the timber harvesting; establishing checkpoints to look for illegal bushmeat or ivory; banning logging roads near
protected areas; and providing alternative sources of protein (such as
fish ponds) to workers in logging camps.
Broader implications of the logging road study
Laporte and colleagues say the study will help policymakers and
scientists better assess logging expansion in Central Africa as well as
the potential impact of logging on global warming emissions.
"Africa is poised for irreversible change, so it is important to help
African countries with tools to monitor what is happening to their
forests." said co-author Scott Goetz, a senior scientist at WHRC.
"This work helps to provide key data to local scientists, allowing them
the tools needed to work with policy makers to help manage their
forests, and in the process reduce biodiversity loss and carbon
emissions from deforestation," added Laporte.
CITATION: Nadine T. Laporte, Jared A. Stabach, Robert Grosch,
Tiffany S. Lin, Scott J. Goetz (2007). Expansion of Industrial Logging
in Central Africa. Science 8 June 2007.
Ayous loggers in Congo. Photo by Nadine Laporte.
Toll road could raise money for Amazon conservation
mongabay.com
July 15, 2007
Southeastern Peru is arguably the most biodiverse place on the planet. A new highway
project, already under construction, poses a great threat to this biological richness as well as
indigenous groups that live in the region. While its too late to stop the road, called the
Carretera Transoceanica or Interoceanic Highway, there are ways to reduce its impact on the
forest ecosystem and its inhabitants.
A new proposal, backed by a group of well-respected researchers, argues that turning parts of
the highway into a toll road could help pay for conservation efforts that will mitigate damage
to the surrounding rainforest. Organizers are asking supports to sign a petition that will then
be presented to the Peruvian president. A statement from the group appears below.
Highway up - A solution to unite economic development and conservation within the
Andes-Amazon Region
The Interoceanic Highway is
currently under construction in South
America. It is predicted to result in
unprecedented destruction of the
Amazon — the largest tropical forest
in the world. In southern Peru the
highway will slice through the
Andes-Amazon region, critical
habitat of the highly threatened
Andean Bear, as well as jaguars,
giant otters, and more than 1,200
other species of mammals and birds.
Once the highway is complete, the
A so-called Giant monkey frog from the threatened region in Peru. Photo by Rhett
wilderness these species inhabit
A. Butler
today will be forever cut in two,
separated by a growing corridor of deforestation along the highway.
Elevating critical portions of the Interoceanic Highway, turning it into a toll pay scenic road,
will help the conservation of the Andes-Amazon region and at the same time will catalyze the
long-term economic stability of local people through ecotourism. Limiting economic activities
around the highway only to special exits can be a great opportunity for regional economic
growth. Doing so will reduce habitat destruction by restricting uncontrolled development of
land away from the specified exits. At the same time it will be possible to offer tourists a
variety of needs at one stop, including hotels, restaurants and field guides ready to show
tourists the unique regional fauna and flora that should be regarded with pride and protected
accordingly.