Brazil is set to approve a controversial expansion of 2,000 kilometers, or more than 1,200 miles, of new shipping channels in the Amazon. With a price tag in the billions of reais, the expansion is needed to ensure cheaper, more efficient transportation of agricultural commodities out of the Amazon, the government says. But an investigation by Mongabay contributor Tiffany Higgins found minimal economic benefits compared to the high socioenvironmental costs the project will likely bring. The Tocantins-Araguaia waterway project began under the previous president, Jair Bolsonaro, but in August 2024, federal prosecutors sued to stop the process, claiming the environmental review was incomplete. Indeed, 27 required studies were missing from the process. Parts of the channel project were approved with hydrology data from 2017, when river levels were much higher than in the last two years when a crippling drought caused record-low water levels. The Tocantins River, for example, is normally 3-3.5 meters (9.8-11.5 feet) high in the dry season, but in October 2024 it was just 2 m (6.6 ft) high. Many barges need at least 2.5 m (8.2 ft) of water to safely navigate rivers. So, a large area may need to be dredged, significantly adding to the cost of the project. Ships can lighten their load to sit higher in the water, an option that will also make shipping more expensive and each bargeload of grain more carbon intensive. “Every foot of reduced water depth or draft is the equivalent of loading 7,000 fewer bushels of soybeans per barge,” Mike…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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