CIFOR scientists are helping to estimate the extent of deforestation that accompanies road paving in the Amazon — even before such roads have been built — which could allow state planners to better assess the costs and benefits of development projects in the region. “Road paving is a huge shock to any socio-ecological system and it is important to understand the impact of this kind of infrastructural development so that steps can be taken to minimise the deleterious effects,” said Amy Duchelle, a CIFOR scientist based in Brazil, and co-author of Roads as Drivers of Change: Trajectories across the Tri-National Frontier in MAP, the Southwestern Amazon, published last year in the journal Remote Sensing. Read More
