Road Impact Assessment in Latin America: Results of Five Case Studies

Localization
Date
2013-08-22
Author
Louis Reymondin
Category

Terra-i participated to a collaborative consultancy project conducted by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) for the Environmental and Social Safeguards Unit of the Inter-American Development Bank. The main goal of this study is to provide tools that will allow analyzing of the impact of large-scale road projects on natural habitats. The study analyzes the impact of five road infrastructure projects (Fig. 1) in Latin America: 1) the Santa Cruz-Puerto Suarez Corridor in Bolivia, 2) the BR-364 Highway in Brazil, 3) the Pan-American section in Darien-Panama, 4) the Trans-Chaco Road in Paraguay, and 5) the IIRSA Integration Corridor in Peru.

Figure 1. Localization of the 5 infrastructure projects

The development of road projects in high-value ecosystems, and nearby protected natural areas, increases pressure on natural habitats, threatens biodiversity conservation, and encourages the conversion of forest land to agricultural and/or livestock systems. Roads provide access to previously remote areas. This opens the way to drivers of deforestation and land-use change, as demonstrated by all 5 road infrastructures projects presented in this study. The patterns of deforestations following road projects over time are extremely diverse, which points to a great variety of drivers and variation in their influence in different countries and their economies, as well as natural factors and policies which channel, impede or influence the dynamics of the land use and land cover change.

Figure 2. Road Impact 2004 - June 2011, Rio Branco - Porto Velho - BR-364 Highway

Local, national and international policies are essential and should be in place before, during, and after road construction, as they can significantly reduce the number of hectares deforested during and after project completion.

It is anticipated that infrastructure allows for the expansion of economic activities. In this sense, national and regional policies and incentives to promote sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices are also important.

To read more about the results of this project you can access the full publication here (link http://www.iadb.org/en/publications/publication-detail,7101.html?id=70018) or read the detail reports made available in Terra-i publication section (link http://www.terra-i.org/terra-i/publications.html)

Acknowledgements: This Consultancy Project was conducted by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) for the Environmental and Social Safeguards Unit of the Inter-American Development Bank. This project was supported with funds from the German Federal Bundesministerium fuer wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) in the framework of a cooperation program between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Important articles Analysis category