Country/Region: Amazonas State, Brazil
Partner: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Forest integrity is critical to biodiversity conservation and human welfare. In Brazil, the Amazonas State boasts 150 million hectares of forest, 127 million of which have high ecological integrity. The land between the Purus and Madeira rivers, the interfluve region at the heart of the state, harbors high levels of biodiversity and endemism and the ecology of the region is still poorly known. This region is under imminent threat due to the plans to repave the BR319 highway, which intersects the whole interfluve region and connects the state capital Manaus to Porto Velho in the state of Rondônia. The paving of the road would undoubtedly result in facilitating access to this pristine region and result in an increase of deforestation, degradation, disconnection of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and land grabbing.
Strengthening conservation governance around the BR319 is critical to preventing the impacts of this development from spreading through the heart of the Amazon.
Supported by Fondation Segré from 2021 to 2023, WCS successfully developed and presented a proposal to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change to recognize a mosaic of seven protected areas and two indigenous lands, covering 2.4 million hectares in the northern Purus-Madeira interfluve. WCS also collaborated with the National Department of Transport Infrastructure to design and construct wildlife canopy crossings to connect forest fragments created by the highway. A Management Council for the mosaic, based on a joint vision for the territory developed in consultation with its multiple stakeholders, is also being established.
Building on this success, Fondation Segré renewed its support to the project in 2023 to further aid WCS in implementing priority actions in the mosaic. These actions aim to strengthen governance and territorial protection and develop sustainable value chains for improved livelihoods. WCS will continue to enhance mitigation measures to reduce road impacts on wildlife and play a key role in minimizing the negative effects of paving the BR-319 highway on the region’s forests, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities.
