South America is undergoing a logistical transformation with the expansion of railways, roads, and the modernization of ports. Projects, like the South American (SA) Integration Routes and the deep-water port of Chancay in Peru stand out for their ambition to connect agricultural and mineral production centers to global markets, particularly in Asia, posing significant structural challenges to the region. Transnational infrastructure projects could serve as catalysts for greater regional integration but depend on a cohesive vision that goes beyond isolated national interests, especially when it comes to internalize their socio-environmental impacts. These projects, taken together, not only lack an understanding of the long-term negative environmental effects but also economic rationality, since they may compete among themselves.
Here, we develop ex-ante evaluations of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of SA Integration Routes. We analyze a set of scenarios to produce timely and thorough cost-benefit assessment of the main planned transportation infrastructures connected to the five major routes, particularly across the Pan-Amazon region, as it is posed to large transformations in the next decades even if just a part of the planning infrastructure is set in motion. By engaging with key civil society organizations and public and private institutions, we use the new science-based tools along with their resulting knowledge to influence the Brazilian government, OTCA countries and international financial institutions to arrive at more sound alternatives and mitigation options that could avert the infrastructure threat to the Amazon socio biodiversity, especially in its Protected Areas.