Protestors Block Brazil Road Project

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

http://forests.org/

4/20/97

OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE

Even reserves and last remnants of ecosystems are not safe from

development threats in the Atlantic Forests of Brazil, as in much of

the world. The Earth Times reports on environmental protest over

plans to expand a road between Sao Paolo and Florianopolis. The point

is made that protest has been and continues to be a source of

conservation advancement.

g.b.

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Protestors block Brazil road project

The Earth Times

By Jack Freeman

4/13/97

http://www.earthtimes.org/

RIO DE JANEIRO--Environmental groups in Brazil are campaigning to

block a highway widening project that they charge threatens to destroy

a significant portion of Brazil's rainforest--a project co-sponsored

by the Inter-American Development Bank.

The highway they are concerned about is BR-116, one of the country's

major traffic routes, linking the cities of Sao Paolo and

Florianopolis. According to the environmentalists, plans call for a

seven-kilometer (4.3 mile) section of the road running through Serra

do Cafezal to become a divided highway, with new lanes to be

constructed parallel to the existing road, separated from it by a

distance of 300 to 600 meters (1,000 to 2,000 feet).

The problem, they say, is that this section of the road crosses the

Atlantic rainforest at a very vulnerable point. The region is an

officially designated Environmental Protection Area, they say, and

includes a private wildlife reserve, Fazenda Iterei.

The reserve, only 90 minutes from downtown Sao Paolo, is filled with

tall tropical trees, orchids and bromeliads and many species of exotic

birds. It also has streams and waterfalls and a variety of mountain

trails, and has been promoted as a site for ecotourism. Critics of the

new road say it will be an unsightly intrusion in the midst of a

scenic wonderland--as well as an environmental disaster.

The environmentalists argue that there are few human activities as

destructive to the environment as a highway construction site, with

mammoth machines moving vast amounts of soil, producing artificial

dust storms and destroying all forms of native plant and animal life

within their path.

"The disaster will be compounded," they say, "by destruction of

existing pure water resources, consisting of a network of sparkling

mountain streams."

They charge that the proposed route will bisect the wildlife reserve,

destroying "an ecological continuum" and threatening the region's

biodiversity.

The groups are calling upon all concerned people to send messages to

Brazil's Environment Minister asking that this section of the highway

project be canceled and sent back to the drawing board.<P>

"It must be made clear," they say in a flyer, "that there is no

opposition to the construction of the highway" itself, calling it "a

very important project linked to the economic well-being of millions

of Latin Americans."

But, they add, "the rainforest must not be destroyed" by the

roadbuilders. "The authorities must change the design of the proposed

duplication" of the roadway, they say, "in order to avoid destruction

of a priceless ecosystem. A well designed project will cause no harm

to the environment; on the contrary, the unique nature of this

beautiful landscape will be enhanced."

They add that there are many examples, the world over, of

environmentally insensitive building projects that have been reversed

because of pressure brought by environmentalists and the general

public.

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