Brazil’s Lula pledges to finish paving road that experts say could worsen Amazon deforestation

Associated Press

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is pledging to finish paving a roadway in the heart of the Amazon that experts and some in his own government say could worsen deforestation. Lula’s promise came Tuesday as he visited a region suffering from wildfires and the nation’s worst-ever drought. Building out the roadway that goes from Porto Velho to Manaus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon, would ease some transportation issues stemming from rivers falling so low they can’t carry goods or people. But experts say it would also lead to more deforestation and climate change, the driver of the periodic megadroughts that have gripped the region.