Road construction in the Peruvian Amazon: process, causes and consequences

In the north-western Peruvian Amazon, a new road has recently been construc ted to link the city of Iquitos with the town of Nauta. The road crosses la nds that are remarkably heterogeneous in terms of ecological conditions, co mprising distinctive soil types from extremely poor to relatively fertile. Although this reality contributes to the land use potential and human carry ing capacity of each place, deforestation of road margins appears equally i ntensive on all types of land. In the mid-1990s, two dead-end roads startin g from both urban centres were characterized by distinctive zones of resour ce exploitation, with a road-free section of primary forest in between. A f ew years later, the separate road ends were linked by a dirt road that serv ed only occasional traffic, but introduced significant new settlement. Vari ous developmental trends evidence incoherent resource management and moment ary public support in the region. By promoting diverse economic activities that reflect environmental conditions in the initial land use planning and land allocation, most sections along this road could be considered economic ally valuable for purposes such as sustainable forestry, tourism, agrofores try and, in suitable sites, intensive agriculture. To promote the more sust ainable uses, thorough environmental legislation, administrative guidelines and follow-up based on an implicit mechanism of learning from previous exp eriences should be implemented. At the local level, there are some importan t initiatives to support such development, including ecological and economi c zoning. However, these measures might be too late to prevent the destruct ive practices so common in many parts of Amazonia.