A new four-lane highway is cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian city of Belém, built to ease traffic ahead of the COP30 climate summit in November. The city will host more than 50,000 people, including world leaders, at the conference. The state government describes the highway as "sustainable," but some locals and conservationists are outraged at its environmental impact, arguing that clearing the Amazon, a vital carbon sink and biodiversity hub, contradicts the purpose of a climate summit.
The road stretches more than 13km (8 miles) through the rainforest into Belém, with logs piled high on cleared land and machines paving over wetland within a protected area. Claudio Verequete, who lives about 200m from the route, once earned income harvesting açaí berries from the trees now destroyed. He says he has received no compensation from the state government and fears the road will drive further deforestation as businesses move into the newly accessible area. His community will not be connected to the road, and he worries about access to medical care in the centre of Belém.
Scientists warn the road will fragment the ecosystem and disrupt wildlife movement. Prof Silvia Sardinha, a wildlife vet who rehabilitates injured animals, says it will become harder to release healed animals, such as sloths, back into the wild, and land animals will lose the ability to cross to the other side.
Brazil's president and environment minister call the summit "a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon," saying it will spotlight the forest and federal protection efforts. Prof Sardinha, however, says the discussions are happening "at a very high level" while people living in the Amazon "are not being heard." The highway, known as Avenida Liberdade, was first proposed by the state of Pará in 2012 but was repeatedly shelved over environmental concerns.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing