Serra do Divisor National Park: a protected area under threat in the south-western Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Summary Protected areas have numerous roles (such as biodiversity preservation, the development of scientific research and the sustainable use of natural resources), but they are under threat from political and economic forces. The 837 000-ha Serra do Divisor National Park (SDNP) in the south-western Brazilian Amazon combines the conservation of natural resources and the maintenance of the productive activities of c. 400 resident families. The Brazilian and Peruvian governments have proposed a road linking Acre (Brazil) to Ucayali (Peru) that would bisect the SDNP. Another threat to the SDNP is a bill proposing its downgrading to an ‘environmental protection area’. This study aims to map the land cover of the SDNP and its surroundings from 1988 to 2018 and to analyse the dynamics of land-use change. Analysis of Landsat satellite images with supervised classification using the MaxVer algorithm show that, during the 30-year period, pasture showed the highest absolute land-cover gain, with 1986 ha in the interior and 7661 ha along the periphery of the SDNP. Only 1% of the park’s primary forest was lost by 2018, but the proposed road and potential downgrading may result in accelerated deforestation and forest degradation in the near future.

Foreign Trade of the State of Acre, Brazil, Between 2019 and 2022: An Analysis of Commercial Interactions

“…In this context, as noted by Wegner and Fernandes (2018), the governments of Peru and Brazil joined in a substantial collaboration to establish an innovative road route known by various names, such as the Transoceanic Highway, Interoceanic Highway, or Pacific Road. This ambitious initiative seeks to connect the most remote regions of the South American continent by charting a land route that crosses the Atlantic Ocean, originating in Brazil, traversing the territory of Acre, and culminating at the Pacific Ocean, where exports would then proceed through Peru (Koga et al, 2022).…”

Tanytarsus van der Wulp (Chironomidae, Diptera): new species from the western Amazon region in Peru and Brazil, new records from the Neotropics, and remarks on the taxonomy of the genus

“…This is a region of great ecological importance, as some of the main rivers of the Amazon basin, such as Juruá and Tarauacá, originate there. Although the SDNP is considered one of the most preserved and biodiverse areas in the world, hosting several endemic species (Whitney et al 2004, Silveira et al 2008, Dolibaina et al 2015, Bernarde et al 2016, this region has been suffering serious threats due to disastrous environmental and economic policies (Koga et al 2022, Ruaro & Laurance 2022. This situation highlights the urgent need to study the biodiversity of the region, as this knowledge is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies.…”