Eight miles of Amazon rainforest were cut down to build a four-lane highway for the COP 30 climate summit
Large swathes of protected Amazon rainforest have been cut down to build a road for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.
The road, which is aiming to ease traffic ahead of the global climate summit, is set to be completed by November.
Local government has described the project as ‘sustainable’ but climate groups have slammed the decision to cut down more crucial rainforest land.
Images from the site of the project show logs piled high along a dirt road running for more than eight miles.
One local said his entire livelihood has been destroyed by the decision to build the road.
Claudio Verequete, who used to harvest açaí berries from the felled trees, told the BBC: ‘Everything was destroyed. ‘Our harvest has already been cut down. We no longer have that income to support our family.’
The government failed to provide any compensation, Verguete added, forcing his family to rely on their meagre savings.
‘Our fear is that one day someone will come here and say: ‘Here’s some money. We need this area to build a gas station, or to build a warehouse.’ And then we’ll have to leave.
‘We were born and raised here in the community. Where are we going to go?’ The road, which will have high walls on either side, won’t provide any connections to Verequete’s community.
He said: ‘For us who live on the side of the highway, there will be no benefits. There will be benefits for the trucks that will pass through.
‘If someone gets sick, and needs to go to the center of Belém, we won’t be able to use it.’
Adler Silveira, the state government’s infrastructure secretary, has insisted the road is needed to modernize the city ahead of COP30. They said: ‘We can have a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way.’ TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
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HI! MIKE IT IS GETTING TO THE POINT THAT WE THE PEOPLE NEED TO RISE UP AND WIPE OUT THESE EVIL RAT BASTARDS OF THE PLANET! I WAS IN BRASIL TO VISIT MY UNCLE BACK IN 96-70′ FOR A MONTH, AND I GO TO SEE A LOT OF THE BEAUTY THAT WAS THERE, I WAS 16 AT THE TIME, AND FELL IN LOVE WITH THE COUNTRY, I WAS VERY MUCH INTO THE ANIMAL, AND INSECT LIFE, AND THROUGH MY UNCLE I GOT TO HAVE A PRIVATE TOUR OF THE Butantan Institute TO SEE ALL THE CRITTERS THEY HAD, AND IT WAS FOR ME A TOTAL MIND BLOWER! THE HUMMINGBIRD CAGE WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD, AS THEY WOULD LAND ON YOU IF YOU STOD STILL, AND THE BUTTERFLY CAGE WAS BEYOND DESCRIPTION, AND THROUGH THAT I HAVE HAD A GREAT RESPECT FOR ALL OF THAT AND THE INCREDIBLE PLANTS AND TREES WHICH IS HOME TO ALL THOSE BEASTS, SO FOR THEM TO JUST CUT DOWN 8 MILES OF FOREST AND NOT GIVE A HOOT ABOUT WHAT IT IS DOING TO THE PEOPLE, IS BEYOND A CRIME, THAT DESERVES LIFE IN GUANTANAMO, OR THE DEATH PENALTY. CHEERS!
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