Brazil Takes Controversial Step Toward Repaving a Highway Through the Rainforest

Video Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories
Published on December 21, 2023 - Duration: 01:31s

Brazil Takes Controversial Step Toward Repaving a Highway Through the Rainforest

Brazil Takes Controversial Step , Toward Repaving a Highway, Through the Rainforest.

NBC reports that the lower house of Congress in Brazil has approved a bill that would repave a highway which cuts through the center of the Amazon rainforest.

Scientists say the easing of environmental licensing threatens the future of Earth's largest tropical rainforest.

The controversial bill, which would use conservation funds donated to Brazil to pay for the highway project, still requires the Senate's approval.

.

Those conservation funds include the $1.3 billion Amazon Fund supported by the United States and European allies.

According to the bill, donated conservation funds would be used for the, "recovery, paving and increasing the capacity of the highway.".

The highway was originally built in the 1970s, but the project was quickly abandoned.

.

In the years since, the 560-mile-long road from Porto Velho in Rondonia state to Manaus in Amazonas state has deteriorated into a rutted dirt road.

According to researchers in the Amazon, repaving the road would trigger a surge of deforestation in Amazonas state, which is home to much of Brazil's best-preserved rainforest.

According to researchers in the Amazon, repaving the road would trigger a surge of deforestation in Amazonas state, which is home to much of Brazil's best-preserved rainforest.

Researchers warn that the repaved highway will open a new frontier for logging that could do irreparable damage to the rainforest.

According to the bill, the highway is , “critical infrastructure, indispensable to national security, requiring the guarantee of its trafficability.”


You are here


💡 newsR Knowledge: Other News Mentions

Brazil

Country in South America
PM Modi presented unique gifts sourced from various states of India during his visits to Nigeria, Brazil, and Guyana. The gifts, representing India's diverse..
Credit: IndiaTimes - Published 18 hours ago

During his three-nation tour, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in 31 bilateral meetings and informal interactions with world leaders. These..
Credit: IndiaTimes - Published 21 hours ago

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro is among more than 30 people facing charges of allegedly attempting a coup after his electoral defeat in 2022.
1 day ago • Sky News


NBC

American broadcast television network
Have John Krasinski's looks over the years propelled him to the "Sexiest Man Alive?!" Here is a 26-year-old version of a smirking paper salesman on "The Office"..
Credit: TMZ.com - Published 6 days ago


You might like