In Brazil’s Acre, calls for new roads clash with deforestation commitments

Along Brazil's repaved BR-317 highway in Acre state, pasture now stretches where forest once stood, a preview environmentalists say could repeat itself if a proposed new road corridor to Peru goes ahead. A report from Amazon Conservation estimates the project could add 74,700 to 133,800 hectares of deforestation over the next decade or two, threatening both biodiversity and potential carbon-credit revenue.

Acre's deforestation peaked in 2021 under Jair Bolsonaro's presidency and has since fallen to 32,400 hectares in 2025, a trend researchers say depends heavily on October's presidential and gubernatorial elections. A federal court halted work on the proposed BR-364 extension through Serra do Divisor National Park in 2023 pending an environmental and social study, after Indigenous communities said they weren't properly consulted.

Local politicians, including sitting candidates for governor, continue to campaign on building the road, arguing it would cut costs for isolated communities and link Acre to the Chinese-built Chancay port in Peru. Researchers note that even unbuilt, the mere prospect of the road is already driving land speculation and the slicing up of private land near the park.

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