Is it just Trump & Putin who have gone mad 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vy191rgn1o
Amazon forest felled to build a road for a climate summit
Media caption,
Watch: Drone shots show the scale of Amazon deforestation for COP30 road
Ione Wells
Belém, Brazil
A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.
It aims to ease traffic to the city, which will host more than 50,000 people - including world leaders - at the conference in November.
The state government touts the highway's "sustainable" credentials, but some locals and conservationists are outraged at the environmental impact.
The Amazon plays a vital role in absorbing carbon for the world and providing biodiversity, and many say that this deforestation contradicts the very purpose of a climate summit.
Along the partially built road, lush rainforest towers on either side - a reminder of what was once there. Logs are piled high in the cleared land that stretches more than 8 miles through the rainforest into Belém.
Diggers and machines carve through the forest floor, paving over wetland to surface the road that will cut through a protected area.
Claudio Verequete lives about 200m from where the road will be. He used to make an income from harvesting açaí berries from trees that once occupied the space.
"Everything was destroyed," he says, gesturing at the clearing.
"Our harvest has already been cut down . . . . we no longer have that income to support our family."
He says that he has received no compensation from the state government and is currently relying on savings.
He worries that the construction of this road will lead to more deforestation in the future, now that the area is more accessible for businesses.
"Our fear is that one day someone will come here and say: 'Here's some money . . . . we need this area to build a gas station, or to build a warehouse, and then we'll have to leave.'
"We were born and raised here in the community. Where are we going to go ?"
Image caption,
Claudio Verequete says the trees that he harvested açaí from have been cut down
His community won't be connected to the road, given its walls on either side.
"For us who live on the side of the highway, there will be no benefits. There will be benefits for the trucks that will pass through. If someone gets sick, and needs to go to the centre of Belém, we won't be able to use it."
The road leaves two disconnected areas of protected forest. Scientists are concerned that it will fragment the ecosystem and disrupt the movement of wildlife.
Prof. Silvia Sardinha is a wildlife vet and researcher at a university animal hospital that overlooks the site of the new highway.
She and her team rehabilitate wild animals with injuries, predominantly caused by humans or vehicles.
Image caption,
Sloths are some of the animals frequently needing treatment after injuries caused by humans
Once healed, they release them back into the wild – something that she says will be harder if there is a highway on their doorstep.
"From the moment of deforestation, there is a loss. We are going to lose an area to release these animals back into the wild, the natural environment of these species" she said.
"Land animals will no longer be able to cross to the other side, either, reducing the areas where they can live and breed."
The Brazilian president and environment minister says that this will be a historic summit because it is "a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon".
The president says that the meeting will provide an opportunity to focus on the needs of the Amazon, show the forest to the world, and present what the federal government has done to protect it, but Prof. Sardinha says that while these conversations will happen "at a very high level, among business people and government officials", those living in the Amazon are "not being heard".
Image caption,
Regional infrastructure secretary Adler Silveira says that the highway will help to "modernise" Belém.
The state government of Pará had touted the idea of this highway, known as Avenida Liberdade, as early as 2012, but it had repeatedly been shelved because of environmental concerns.
Now a host of infrastructure projects have been resurrected or approved to prepare the city for the COP summit.
Adler Silveira, the state government's infrastructure secretary, listed this highway as one of 30 projects happening in the city to "prepare" and "modernise" it, so "we can have a legacy for the population, and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way."
Speaking to the BBC, he said that it was a "sustainable highway" and an "important mobility intervention."
He added that it would have wildlife crossings for animals to pass over, bike lanes and solar lighting. New hotels are also being built and the port is being redeveloped so that cruise ships can dock there to accommodate excess visitors.
Brazil's federal government is investing more than $81m (£62m) to expand the airport capacity from "seven to 14 million passengers" and a new 500,000 sq-m city park, Parque da Cidade, is under construction that will include green spaces, restaurants, a sports complex and other facilities for the public to use afterwards.
Some business owners in the city's vast open-air Ver-o-peso market agree that this development will bring opportunities for the city.
"The city as a whole is being improved, it is being repaired and a lot of people are visiting from other places. It means that I can sell more and earn more," says Dalci Cardoso da Silva, who runs a leather shoe stall.
He says that this is necessary because when he was young, Belém was "beautiful, well-kept, well cared for", but it has since been "abandoned" and "neglected" with "little interest from the ruling class".
Image caption,
João Alexandre Trindade da Silva hopes that COP30 will leave a great legacy for the people of Pará state
João Alexandre Trindade da Silva, who sells Amazonian herbal medicines in the market, acknowledges that all construction work can cause problems, but he thinks that the future impact would be worth it.
"We hope that the discussions aren't just on paper and become real actions, and the measures & the decisions taken really are put into practice so that the planet can breathe a little better, enabling the population in the future to have a little cleaner air."
That will be the hope of world leaders, too, who choose to attend the COP30 summit.
Scrutiny is growing about whether flying thousands of them across the world, and the infrastructure required to host them, is undermining the cause.
If the area has been 'neglected or 'abandoned' as has been suggested, completing this project will obviously have benefits for local businesses in the future, but at what cost to the planet ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vy191rgn1o
Amazon forest felled to build a road for a climate summit
You must log in or register to see images
00:33Media caption,
Watch: Drone shots show the scale of Amazon deforestation for COP30 road
Ione Wells
Belém, Brazil
A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.
It aims to ease traffic to the city, which will host more than 50,000 people - including world leaders - at the conference in November.
The state government touts the highway's "sustainable" credentials, but some locals and conservationists are outraged at the environmental impact.
The Amazon plays a vital role in absorbing carbon for the world and providing biodiversity, and many say that this deforestation contradicts the very purpose of a climate summit.
Along the partially built road, lush rainforest towers on either side - a reminder of what was once there. Logs are piled high in the cleared land that stretches more than 8 miles through the rainforest into Belém.
Diggers and machines carve through the forest floor, paving over wetland to surface the road that will cut through a protected area.
You must log in or register to see images
IMAGE SOURCE, BBC / PAULO KOBAClaudio Verequete lives about 200m from where the road will be. He used to make an income from harvesting açaí berries from trees that once occupied the space.
"Everything was destroyed," he says, gesturing at the clearing.
"Our harvest has already been cut down . . . . we no longer have that income to support our family."
He says that he has received no compensation from the state government and is currently relying on savings.
He worries that the construction of this road will lead to more deforestation in the future, now that the area is more accessible for businesses.
"Our fear is that one day someone will come here and say: 'Here's some money . . . . we need this area to build a gas station, or to build a warehouse, and then we'll have to leave.'
"We were born and raised here in the community. Where are we going to go ?"
You must log in or register to see images
IMAGE SOURCE, BBC / PAULO KOBAImage caption,
Claudio Verequete says the trees that he harvested açaí from have been cut down
His community won't be connected to the road, given its walls on either side.
"For us who live on the side of the highway, there will be no benefits. There will be benefits for the trucks that will pass through. If someone gets sick, and needs to go to the centre of Belém, we won't be able to use it."
The road leaves two disconnected areas of protected forest. Scientists are concerned that it will fragment the ecosystem and disrupt the movement of wildlife.
Prof. Silvia Sardinha is a wildlife vet and researcher at a university animal hospital that overlooks the site of the new highway.
She and her team rehabilitate wild animals with injuries, predominantly caused by humans or vehicles.
You must log in or register to see images
IMAGE SOURCE, BBC / PAULO KOBAImage caption,
Sloths are some of the animals frequently needing treatment after injuries caused by humans
Once healed, they release them back into the wild – something that she says will be harder if there is a highway on their doorstep.
"From the moment of deforestation, there is a loss. We are going to lose an area to release these animals back into the wild, the natural environment of these species" she said.
"Land animals will no longer be able to cross to the other side, either, reducing the areas where they can live and breed."
The Brazilian president and environment minister says that this will be a historic summit because it is "a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon".
The president says that the meeting will provide an opportunity to focus on the needs of the Amazon, show the forest to the world, and present what the federal government has done to protect it, but Prof. Sardinha says that while these conversations will happen "at a very high level, among business people and government officials", those living in the Amazon are "not being heard".
You must log in or register to see images
IMAGE SOURCE, BBC / PAULO KOBAImage caption,
Regional infrastructure secretary Adler Silveira says that the highway will help to "modernise" Belém.
The state government of Pará had touted the idea of this highway, known as Avenida Liberdade, as early as 2012, but it had repeatedly been shelved because of environmental concerns.
Now a host of infrastructure projects have been resurrected or approved to prepare the city for the COP summit.
Adler Silveira, the state government's infrastructure secretary, listed this highway as one of 30 projects happening in the city to "prepare" and "modernise" it, so "we can have a legacy for the population, and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way."
Speaking to the BBC, he said that it was a "sustainable highway" and an "important mobility intervention."
He added that it would have wildlife crossings for animals to pass over, bike lanes and solar lighting. New hotels are also being built and the port is being redeveloped so that cruise ships can dock there to accommodate excess visitors.
Brazil's federal government is investing more than $81m (£62m) to expand the airport capacity from "seven to 14 million passengers" and a new 500,000 sq-m city park, Parque da Cidade, is under construction that will include green spaces, restaurants, a sports complex and other facilities for the public to use afterwards.
You must log in or register to see images
Some business owners in the city's vast open-air Ver-o-peso market agree that this development will bring opportunities for the city.
"The city as a whole is being improved, it is being repaired and a lot of people are visiting from other places. It means that I can sell more and earn more," says Dalci Cardoso da Silva, who runs a leather shoe stall.
He says that this is necessary because when he was young, Belém was "beautiful, well-kept, well cared for", but it has since been "abandoned" and "neglected" with "little interest from the ruling class".
You must log in or register to see images
IMAGE SOURCE, BBC / PAULO KOBAImage caption,
João Alexandre Trindade da Silva hopes that COP30 will leave a great legacy for the people of Pará state
João Alexandre Trindade da Silva, who sells Amazonian herbal medicines in the market, acknowledges that all construction work can cause problems, but he thinks that the future impact would be worth it.
"We hope that the discussions aren't just on paper and become real actions, and the measures & the decisions taken really are put into practice so that the planet can breathe a little better, enabling the population in the future to have a little cleaner air."
That will be the hope of world leaders, too, who choose to attend the COP30 summit.
Scrutiny is growing about whether flying thousands of them across the world, and the infrastructure required to host them, is undermining the cause.
If the area has been 'neglected or 'abandoned' as has been suggested, completing this project will obviously have benefits for local businesses in the future, but at what cost to the planet ?
