Governance Area of Influence and Environmental Risks of Transport Infrastructure Investments: Case Studies in the State of Pará

This case study by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the governance and environmental risks associated with four federal transport infrastructure projects in the state of Pará: Ferrogrão, BR-155/158, BR-163/230/MT/PA, and BR-230. Using a 'market access approach' to quantify deforestation risks, the study finds that these projects collectively threaten nearly 7,000 square kilometers of Amazonian native vegetation, with over half of the impact concentrated in Pará. The report highlights significant transparency issues regarding project documentation and urges the Pará state government to engage in dialogue with the federal government to integrate deforestation control funding into project designs.

• Four federal infrastructure projects—Ferrogrão, BR-155/158, BR-163/230/MT/PA, and BR-230—collectively risk the loss of nearly 7,000 square kilometers of native vegetation in the Amazon, with 3,800 square kilometers located specifically in the state of Pará.
• To mitigate the deforestation risks associated with these four projects, an annual investment of US$ 43 million is required for land governance and deforestation control, with US$ 23 million of that amount earmarked for actions within the state of Pará.
• The BR-155/158 road concession project, spanning approximately 1,135 kilometers, is estimated to cause a loss of 1,774 square kilometers of forest over 30 years, with 1,383 square kilometers occurring in Pará. This represents a carbon loss of approximately US$ 2.6 billion based on a benchmark of US$ 40/tCOe.
• The Ferrogrão railroad project, which connects Sinop (MT) to Miritituba (PA), is projected to cause a loss of 1,273 square kilometers of forest over 30 years, including 254 square kilometers in Pará, resulting in a carbon loss of approximately US$ 1.86 billion.
• The BR-163/230/MT/PA road concession is expected to cause the highest deforestation among the studied projects, with a projected loss of 3,670 square kilometers over 30 years, of which 1,857 square kilometers are in Pará, totaling a carbon loss of approximately US$ 5.36 billion.
• The paving of a 500-kilometer segment of BR-230 between Medicilândia and Campo Verde in Pará is estimated to result in the loss of 272 square kilometers of forest over 30 years, with a carbon loss of approximately US$ 400 million.
• CPI/PUC-Rio identified a systemic transparency problem in federal infrastructure projects, noting that socio-environmental studies and documents were often unavailable or difficult to access, even when requested via the Information Access Law (LAI).
• The study's 'market access approach' demonstrates that a 1% increase in market access—driven by reduced transport costs from infrastructure—increases deforestation by 0.5% in municipalities within the Legal Amazon.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2021). Governance Area of Influence and Environmental Risks of Transport Infrastructure Investments: Case Studies in the State of Pará. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/governance-area-of-influence-and-environmental-risks-of-transport-infrastructure-investments-case-studies-in-the-state-of-para-2/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Governance Area of Influence and Environmental Risks of Transport Infrastructure Investments: Case Studies in the State of Pará. 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/governance-area-of-influence-and-environmental-risks-of-transport-infrastructure-investments-case-studies-in-the-state-of-para-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Governance Area of Influence and Environmental Risks of Transport Infrastructure Investments: Case Studies in the State of Pará |date=27 September 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/governance-area-of-influence-and-environmental-risks-of-transport-infrastructure-investments-case-studies-in-the-state-of-para-2/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2021governance, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Governance Area of Influence and Environmental Risks of Transport Infrastructure Investments: Case Studies in the State of Pará}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/governance-area-of-influence-and-environmental-risks-of-transport-infrastructure-investments-case-studies-in-the-state-of-para-2/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }