----------
> From: peter.unmack at ASU.Edu
> To: acn-l <acn-l at acn.ca>
> Subject: [acn-l] [nia-net] BIOD: Darien Gap Road (fwd)
> Date: Wednesday, December 03, 1997 12:54 PM
>
> Of interest
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 19:15:39 -0200
> From: Paulo A. Buckup <buckup at omega.lncc.br>
> To: nia-net at inpa.gov.br
> Subject: [nia-net] BIOD: Darien Gap Road
>
> James Albert has been posting several articles to this list that I
generally
> wellcome, even though they are not directly related to ichthyology. I
> generally agree with the conservationist viewpoints expressed in those
> articles, including those on the destruction of the Amazon forest which
> occurs in my country. However, I strongly disagree with the one below.
I
> think that it is a great shame for our society and humanity in general
that
> North and South America must remain isolated from each other by 54 miles.
> Yes, the road may cause havoc in that stretch of the Neotropical world,
but
> that's insignificant compared the impact that such a connection would
have
> in all our lives and on everyday life in the Americas. Perhaps a few
> thousand people might move into the area between Panama and Colombia, but
> think of how many hundreds of thousands may die or live happier depending
on
> whether underdeveloped countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and other
> Central, South and North American coutries remain isolated by land. Just
> consider which fraction of the hundreds of millions of people may be
> affected by a free road connecting our continents... It's a shame that a
> conservationist flag is raised to justify the maintenance fo isolationism
> among societies. ... If I am not wrong, Panama and Colombia were once a
> single country. If societies can justify destructing the Chagres river
and
> nearby lands to interconnect two oceans (How much biodiversity was lost
> there?), why is it so difficult do connect two continents?
>
> This is not meant to start a discussion. I just want to express an
opinion
> on something that might otherwise receive on one view.
>
> Paulo Buckup
>
> >Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 15:15:36 +0900 (JST)
> >To: nia-net at inpa.gov.br
> >From: albert at nms.ac.jp (James Albert)
> >X-Sender: albert at pop.nms.ac.jp
> >Subject: [nia-net] BIOD: Darien Gap Road
> >Sender: owner-nia-net at inpa.gov.br
> >Reply-To: albert at nms.ac.jp (James Albert)
> >
> >Potential Darien Gap Road Threatens "Motherload of Biodiversity"
> >
> >11/30/97
> >OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY
> >Cable News Network reports on the threat to the forests of the Darien
Gap
> >-- 3 million acres of unspoiled wilderness separating Panama and
Colombia.
> >Completing these last 54 miles of the Pan-American highway will attract
> >thousands of poor immigrants looking for land, and all but guarantee the
> >clearing of the remaining forest. Leaders of indigenous Indian tribes
in
> >the gap fear the influx of immigrants would destroy them
> >economically and culturally. JSA
> >
> >*******************************
> >RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
> >
> >Title: Pan-American Highway's missing link, Controversy surrounds
> > effort to extend road
> >Source: Cable News Network
> >Status: Copyrighted, contact source for reprint permissions
> >Date: November 25, 1997
> >Byline: Gary Strieker
> >
> >The Darien Gap is said to contain a "motherload of biodiversity."
> >
> >DARIEN GAP, Panama (CNN) -- Here, where Central and South America come
> >together, lies a rain forest containing one of the richest ecological
> >regions on Earth. It's also an obstacle to the completion of the Pan-
> >American Highway, more than 16,000 miles of continuous road from
> >Alaska to the tip of South America.
> >
> >The only missing link is a 54-mile stretch through two national parks
> >-- one in Panama, the other in Colombia -- that contain the Darien
> >Gap's more than 3 million acres of unspoiled wilderness.
> >
> >The region is a "motherlode of biodiversity ... (and) ... one of the
> >most important tracts of forest remaining in the Americas," says
> >Hernan Arauz of ANCON, a private, non-profit organization dedicated to
> >the conservation of Panama's natural resources.
> >
> >Road completion debated
> >
> >Supporters of the highway cite both symbolic and economic reasons for
> >completing it. It's outrageous, they say, that at the dawn of the 21st
> >century the Americas are still not united because of a few miles of
> >missing road.
> >
> >But it's an argument ANCON opposes. "We don't need this road," says
> >Juan Carlos Navarro, another member of the group. "We don't want it,
> >and we will never have it."
> >
> >Completing the Pan-American highway here, say conservationists, would
> >attract thousands of poor immigrants looking for land and guarantee
> >annihilation of the remaining forest. Leaders of indigenous Indian
> >tribes in the gap fear the influx of immigrants would destroy them
> >economically and culturally.
> >
> >Conservationists also point to the nearest stretch of the highway,
> >already completed as far as Yaviza, Panama. The area, heavily forested
> >only 20 years ago, is now mostly stripped of timber for miles on both
> >sides of the highway.
> >
> >Many local farmers seem unconcerned by the controversy, saying they
> >just want the existing road improved so they can use it in the rainy
> >season to get their produce to market.
> >
> >Panama's government in no rush
> >
> >Latin American diplomats have called for completing the highway, but
> >Panama's government, concerned about political and drug-related
> >violence moving north from Colombia, seems to have given the project a
> >low priority.
> >
> >In fact, many Panamanians are comforted by having the Darien Gap as a
> >buffer zone on the Colombian border.
> >
> >Other factors working in favor of highway opponents:
> >
> >* Many Panamanians are comforted by having the Darien Gap as a buffer
> >zone on the Colombian border.
> >
> >* There's no money for building the road anytime soon, and the United
> >States is no longer interested in financing it.
> >
> >* Good travel alternatives, especially coastal shipping.
> >
> >"The people who still talk about a highway between Panama and Colombia
> >were passed by history ... They're dinosaurs," Navarro says.
> >
> >So the Pan-American Highway may remain incomplete for some time to
> >come.
> >
> >###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###
> >This document is a PHOTOCOPY for educational, personal and non-
> >commercial use only. Recipients should seek permission from the
> >source for reprinting. All efforts are made to provide accurate,
> >timely pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
> >information rests with the reader. Check out our Gaia Forest
> >Conservation Archives at URL= http://forests.org/
> >
> >
> >
> >James Albert
> >Nippon Medical School
> >
> >
> >
> Dr. Paulo A. Buckup Tel.: (021) 537-2679
> Dept. de Vertebrados (021) 994-0223
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>