Peru ends era of 'roadless wilderness' in its Amazon rainforests

[Judi Lynn]

January 30, 2018 by Alexander C. Lees, The Conversation



A Hoatzin keeps a wary eye on ecotourists in the Madre de Dios. Credit: Alexander Lees, Author provided



Biodiversity reaches its zenith in south-east Peru. This vast wilderness of 2m square km of rainforests and savannahs is formed of the headwaters of three major river basins, the Juruá, Purús, and Madeira. Nowhere on Earth can you find more species of animals and plants than in this corner of the Amazon that rubs up against the feet of the towering Andean mountains. These forests are also home to a culturally diverse human population, many of whom still live in voluntary isolation from the rest of humanity.

In 2012 I spent a hectic few days in the exhausting Madre de Dios region, literally Spanish for "Mother of God". I was there at the invitation of the Peruvian tourist board, which wanted to raise awareness of the region's potential. In the lush lowland rainforests our team of ornithologists recorded more than 240 bird species in a few hours. These included the Rufous-fronted Antthrush, a near-mythical sighting among birders and one of a number of vertebrate species discovered by scientists there in the second half of the 20th century. It, and many others like it, are found nowhere else.

The end of the Mother of God

This part of Peru has long been cut off from the rest of the world in splendid roadless isolation. Globalisation has been knocking at the door for decades however, and it may now have a way in thanks to a development plan to facilitate transportation across the continent: The Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA). If seen to fruition it will effectively end road-free wilderness in the Amazon.

The Peruvian Congress recently approved a bill declaring it in the national interest to construct new roads in the Madre de Dios region. These spurs of the IIRSA's continent-spanning Interoceanic Highway will include a road connecting the remote towns of Puerto Esperanza and Iñapari, which will cut through a mosaic of different protected areas.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-peru-era-roadless-wilderness-amazon.html#jCp