Scientists Urge Ban On Roads In Intact Wilderness Areas
A group of prominent scientists chose to mark the second International Day of Forests by urging the world to support an initiative that aims keep wild areas free of roads. Roadfree, an initiative led by Member of the European Parliament Kriton Arsenis, has been growing in prominence over the past year, gaining supporters ranging from indigenous rights leaders to deep ecologists. Now the Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers and Thinkers (ALERT), a group of prominent conservation scientists, has thrown its weight behind the concept. "It's reached crisis proportions,' said William Laurance, a professor
at James Cook University in Australia and the director of ALERT.
"Whether you’re talking about the Amazon, Sumatra, Siberia or the Congo,
there’s hardly a wilderness area left that isn’t under assault from new
roads. Those roads usually open a Pandora’s Box of environmental
problems—such as illegal fires, deforestation, hunting and gold mining." According to the group, 95 percent of forest loss occurs within 50 km of a road, which is a dire prospect given projected road expansion — 90 percent of which will be in countries with the highest levels of biodiversity — in coming decades. "It’s been estimated that we’ll have another 25 million kilometers of paved roads by 2050—enough to encircle the Earth more than 600 times," said Lovejoy. While ALERT acknowledges the role roads play in economic development,
it is urging policymakers and financiers to consider the considerable
environmental costs of building roads through intact ecosystems. Roads are often built initially for logging, mining, and energy
development. After valuable timber is harvested, minerals extracted, and
oil and gas shipped away, the next wave of people arrive. These may be
land speculators, informal loggers and miners, slash-and-burn farmers,
industrial farmers and plantation developers, or commercial poachers.
Forests are rapidly cleared, often illegally and without generating much
in the way of revenue for the state, while wiping out wildlife,
generating carbon emissions, degrading important ecosystem services, and
putting traditional livelihoods at risk. Tree Lined Road via Shutterstock 2014©. Copyright Environmental News Network |