2 October 2009
Civil Society outlines their concerns about socio-environmental impacts of the IIRSA project "Road Interconnection: Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul" and demands that the IDB promote more transparency and public consultation in the IIRSA process.
September 29, 2009
Honorable Luis Alberto Moreno
President
Inter-American Development Bank
Washington, DC
Dear President Moreno,
We write to express our concerns about the Bank’s role in implementation of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA). Specifically, we request the Bank to reconsider its support of IIRSA projects, Eje Del Amazonas, Grupo G04, “Road Interconnection: Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul” and “Interconexion Energetica Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul.”
IIRSA documents currently call for construction of no fewer than five transportation corridors across the western Amazon and over the Andes to the Pacific coast. Such a vast amount of road construction will seriously threaten the future of many indigenous groups and of the biological integrity of the western Amazon headwaters region. Emissions from deforestation and land degradation will compromise the carbon emission reduction goals being considered and proposed by both Brazil and Peru.
Our immediate concern is the IIRSA proposal for a second interoceanic road across the state of Acre into and across southern Peru. This project, “Road Interconnection, Pucallpa-Cruzeiro do Sul,” is shown on the attached map, taken from the IIRSA website.
In Brazil this proposed Pucallpa-Cruzeiro road will cut through the center of Serra do Divisor National Park which has been nominated by the Brazilian Government for inclusion on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The Serra do Divisor region is a renowned center of endemism and biodiversity.
The Serra do Divisor region is home to many indigenous groups, living on both sides of the international border. Yet another road through this region will threaten the very existence of these indigenous groups, many of which are uncontacted and living in voluntary isolation.
In Peru the proposed road will cut through the Isconahua Territorial Reserve, an area created by the regional government of Ucayali to protect indigenous peoples that are uncontacted or living in voluntary isolation. This region has also been designated, in recognition of its national significance, as the Zona Reservada Sierra del Divisor.
In addition to crossing through these reserved areas, the proposed road would impact two additional proposed reserves, the Yavari-Tapiche and Kapanahua, for indigenous peoples that are uncontacted or living in voluntary isolation as well as other indigenous groups including the Ashaninka and Shipibo-Conibo.
You should also note that there is already an IIRSA road, the Interoceanica Sur, now nearly completed, that passes through this region linking the state of Acre with southern Peru. With completion of this highway, the age old objective of linking Acre and Brasil to the Pacific coast will be achieved. There is no justification for building another road for that purpose.
In light of these deficiencies, taking account of the lack of transparency and consultation in the IIRSA process, and considering the implications for the future of the Amazon- Andean region, we respectfully request the Bank to take the following actions:
1. Design and implement, in consultation with the governments of Brazil and Peru, a comprehensive process of public consultation with the affected communities on both sides of the international border. As a beginning we direct your attention to the following groups which have expressed concern about this road proposal and its social and environmental impacts. In Brazil: SOS Amazônia; Comissão Pro-Indio and Grupo de Trabalho para Protecão Transfronteiriça da Serra do Divisor e do Alto Rio Juruã. In Peru: Instituto de Bien Comun; Pronaturaleza; Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental; The Nature Conservancy.
2. Consult with the Brazilian government and UNESCO concerning the future of Serra do Divisor National Park. The integrity of this Park and its eligibility for World Heritage designation will be seriously compromised by construction of an international highway and transmission corridor through the center of the Park.
3. Consult with national and international advocates for indigenous and voluntarily isolated groups to demonstrate that the Bank is meeting international standards for obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples living in the affected area.
4. Evaluate the expected deforestation, land use changes and loss of biodiversity that will result from this road proposal.
5. Until these actions are completed, the Bank, in its role as the secretariat of IIRSA, should request IIRSA coordinating committees to delete the Pucallpa-Cruzeiro projects from the list of currently approved projects.
We appreciate your attention to these issues, and we look forward to your response.
Amigos da Terra-Amazonia Brasileira
Roberto Smeraldi, Director
Fundaciòn Peruana para la Conservaciòn de la Naturaleza
Martìn Alcalde Pineda, Executive Director
Conservation International
Peter Seligman, Chief Executive Officer
Environmental Defense Fund
Fred Krupp, President
Cultural Survival
Ellen Lutz, Executive Director
CC: Executive Directors, Inter-American Development Bank
CC: Honorable John Kerry, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
CC: Honorable Howard L. Berman, Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee
CC: Honorable Barney Frank, Chairman, House Financial Services Committee