Amazon's road to ruin: highway threatens heart of the rainforest

Efforts to stop upgrade of BR-319 are faltering amid pressure from rightwing governors and senatorsWhen a new road pierces the Amazon rainforest, it creates what is known as the fishbone effect. First comes the spine, which is a highway opened up by bulldozers, asphalters and pavers. Soon after follow the ribs, the spur roads on either side that are carved out - often illegally - by land-grabbers, loggers, miners and farmers. From a satellite or plane, the end result resembles the skeleton of a herring with all of the surrounding vegetation steadily filleted away by chainsaws and fire.Since the opening of the Trans-Amazonian highway in 1972, such fishbones have appeared throughout the world's greatest rainforest with devastating effect. Ninety-five per cent of all deforestation in the Amazon occurs within 5.5km (3.4 miles) of a road. Continue reading...