Controversial Brazilian highway project

A controversial highway project is now being proposed in Brazil. The plan is for the construction of a new highway route through the Amazon rain forest, with the case for the project being put forward by the Brazilian Government. But this development comes in spite of a global move to protect rain forest areas in a bid to mitigate climate change.

The proposed alignment for the road is for a route that passes through the Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, which runs along Brazil’s border with Peru. It is a highly controversial project as this national park area is a protected biodiversity site.

The 152km stretch of road will provide an improved transport link between Brazil and Peru and will develop trade between the two nations. But the project will be subject to legal action on environmental grounds, as well as over concerns for indigenous groups in the area. The construction of the road will require trees to be removed along a 130km stretch, which environmental groups are likely to try and prevent. The work also calls for a new bridge to be built.