One way for a poor nation to prosper in a globalizing world is to strive to develop technologically. For most of our lives, the South American continent has been known as “developing”. Therefore, in such a rapidly growing world, what can they do to further their infrastructure and way of life? Well, in 2005 the construction of an “Inter-oceanic Highway” commenced in hopes to increase transportation of products, money, and ideas throughout the continent. It basically consists of a group of three highways that all connect Peru, on the Pacific Ocean to Brazil on the Atlantic. When completed, it will offer 2,600 kilometers of road and 22 bridges for all to use. Estimated costs for the project are approximately 1.3 billion (or more) U.S. Dollars. If all goes well, the highway is expected to bring stimulus and economic opportunity to all in the region.
While many people would like to see this project as a success, conservationists all over the globe are strongly opposed to the plan. Many disadvantages to the construction of the highway are due to its location. Because the inter-oceanic highway crosses directly through the heart of the Amazon rainforest, the wellbeing of this valued environment and its intense degradation is a serious possibility. The obvious impacts of the highway are deforestation and the erosion of soils in the direct path of the road. With time, the invasion of this protected area could bring the extinction of certain plants and animals that have made the Amazon so famous and maintained an environmentally balanced world for thousands of years.
The problems caused by the construction of the highway are not only environmental but also social. Construction requires years of work and in turn many workers. Some say that the construction promotes cheap or slave labor of indigenous tribes throughout the location. Also, because the highway is located in the heart of traditional Amazonian societies, other people believe that a loss of culture will occur with such an influx of outside goods. Finally, such a vast highway would have the ability to facilitate the trafficking of drugs, weapons, or animals all throughout the continent and in turn to other parts of the world.
I fully understand and have seen the need of many Latin American nations to continue to develop their infrastructure. As North Americans, we have all the highways we could possibly desire, so how could we say that they cannot seek anything but the same? In my opinion, this is unfortunate because the path through the most biodiverse forest on the planet must remain protected unless science proves that the outcome will remain good. I simply feel that the long term effects will be too hard to distinguish and other means of infrastructure should be presented.
In my global environmental issues class, we learned that building a highway that cuts through a forest does some environmental damage, but what follows is much worse. And that is the development of towns and cities and industry surrounding that highway. I fear that with this proposal, this will be the case. And this will cause the loss of more biodiversity as well as the loss of a big chunk of the remaining rainforests. It is unfortunate though because these developing nations deserve success and wealth too, but it will come at an extreme environmental cost. It will be extremely difficult to come up with a solution that betters the countries economy and the environment, but it is of extreme importance that such a solution be found.
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