TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Brazil's government on Wednesday announced that it will invest $75 million (about €65 million) in the BR-319 highway that cuts through the center of the Amazon forest.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration simultaneously announced an environmental protection plan to safeguard the forest from the potential impacts of the highway.
Environmentalists argue that a lot of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest takes place along roadsides because they're easier to access and advocate for developing commitments that keep that in mind.
The Amazon rainforest is not only home to millions of species of plants and animals but also play a critical cooling effect on the planet.
Plus, its trees also absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — CO that is released back into the atmosphere when trees are felled.
What to know about BR-319
BR-319 was officially opened in 1976 and was abandoned later because maintaining the road became very difficult.
Ever since, only a part of the road has been usable.
The 560-mile (900-kilometer) dirt road is the only one connecting the manufacturing hub of Manaus, deep in the jungle in the north, to the rest of the country.
The highway project was pushed by the country's military dictatorship, which wanted to develop the area and integrate it with the rest of the country.
Lula vows climate protections
"From an environmental standpoint, it will be the most modern road in the world," Lula said during a ceremony in Amazonas state, home to the city of Manaus, accompanied by Environment Minister Joao Paulo Capobianco.
"Any foreigner who comes here to weigh in on the climate issue, we will show what we've done here," Lula said.
The government pledged to install inspection checkpoints, enforcement agency bases and to create new conservation units. It said it would hire a private company in 2028 to support enforcement.
Environmental group challenge BR-319 highway project
Environmental groups, including the Climate Observatory, have challenged the highway project in court.
In 2024, Climate Observatory filed a lawsuit to overturn the preliminary license to pave the BR-319 highway, issued in 2022, arguing that officials ignored technical warnings from Brazil's environmental agency and failed to require key safeguards, such as Indigenous consultation and climate impact studies.
Subsequent legal challenges briefly halted a related bidding process in April, but a higher court soon overturned the suspension.
Lula, a leftist leader who took office in 2023, has spoken favorably about paving BR-319, saying it can be done while also protecting the environment.
Read: Brazil's Soy Industry Gives Deforestation a Green Light
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