road protests 1997
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Date: Thu, 01 May 1997 10:12:49 +0100
From: Road Alert!
To: roadalert@gn.apc.org
Subject: BR-116 (Brasil)
After reading below, please hassle The Brazilian Consulate General, 6 St
Albans Street, London, SW1Y 4SQ - open to the public for visas etc 10 am - 4
pm most week days - nearest tube station Piccadilly Circus
tel 0171 930 9055 - fax 0171 839 9058
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.
"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.
--
Protestors block Brazil road project
The Earth Times
By Jack Freeman
4/13/97
Copyright 1997 The Earth Times
http://www.earthtimes.org/
--
road protests 1997
| road protests (current)
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