BR-319 could impact an area of ​​the Amazon greater than the state of SP

The paving of the BR-319 highway, which connects Porto Velho (RO) to Manaus (AM) could generate an impact —including risk of deforestation— on more than 300,000 square kilometers of the Amazon. This represents an area larger than the entire state of São Paulo.

The conclusion is part of a study developed by the CPI (Climate Policy Initiative)/PUC-Rio, together with the Amazônia 2030 project, an initiative of Brazilian scientists in search of sustainable development plans for the region. event at Princeton University (USA) at the end of last week.

According to the researchers, the highway should have an impact on nine municipalities in Amazonas, which together have a population of over 320,000. Under the BR-319’s area of ​​influence are also 49 indigenous lands, 49 conservation units and 140,000 km² of non-destined public forests — public lands that have not received a destination (such as becoming a conservation unit, for example) and that tend to be hotspots for deforestation and land grabbing in the Amazon.

In general, environmental impact studies rely on physical distances to assess a construction’s area of ​​influence, which is important for determining compensation measures, mitigation and consultation with affected populations (such as indigenous peoples). That is, for a highway or railroad, for example, people, animals and land up to a certain number of kilometers will be affected.

The distance to be considered in each case, however, varies. “The way this is defined is somewhat arbitrary”, says Arthur Bragança, coordinator of public policy evaluation at CPI/PUC-Rio.

Therefore, the study used a different approach to point out the possible area of ​​influence of the works: market access. That is, the economic impacts that the project will cause in the region where it is located were considered, explains Bragança.

The 900km of BR-319 is the only highway that connects Manaus to the rest of the country. Built, paved and inaugurated in 1976, during the military dictatorship, it ended up losing its pavement.

Since the 1990s, improvement works have been carried out in several areas of the highway, but a central section, approximately 400 km long, is a subject of controversy precisely because of its possible impact.

The MPF (Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office) has questioned the holding of public hearings on the licensing of this stretch because, according to the agency, there are no complete environmental impact studies so far.

The concern is even greater because roads often lead to an increase in deforestation – Amazonas is the state with the most untouched areas of forest in the country.

For Bragança, paving this stretch changes accessibility to some regions, which alters the economic dynamics of the place. “In particular, for those who have a piece of land, you change the decision to open [derrubar] the forest,” he says.

This type of market access methodology —already used internationally for transport projects in cities and international trade— takes into account the costs of the entire transport network in the region (in the case of roads, whether paved or not). With this, it is possible to see which areas should be more influenced by the highway.

Once the area of ​​influence has been traced (which can be done immediately after having a design of the work), it is possible to look at the impacted areas and observe, in each location, what the risks involved are, says the researcher.

“The objective is to build infrastructure in a way that does not harm the environment so much”, says Bragança. “Almost all road construction projects in the Amazon, historically, are linked to major socio-environmental impacts.”

Other studies already pointed out that BR would have an area of ​​influence equivalent to the areas of Germany and the Netherlands together, according to a survey by Idesam (Institute for Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Amazon).

A technical note made by the Observatory of the BR-319, in April of this year, points to the opening of about 4,752 km of branches (non-official minor roads) from the highway in four municipalities (Canutama, Humaitá, Manicoré and Tapauá), along south of the road.

Deter, a program run by Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), pointed out in April a concentration of areas of forest clearing around the BR-319. A survey by Ipam (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia) had already pointed to an explosion of deforestation on public lands under the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government.

THE Sheet contacted the Ministry of Infrastructure, which did not respond until the publication of this report.