Railway project in the Amazon raises questions over Brazil’s efforts to stop deforestation

As Brazil seeks to boost its environmental credentials by hosting the United Nations’ climate summit, a controversial railway project through the Amazon rainforest is threatening to undermine the country’s green image amid growing protests from Indigenous groups and environmental activists.

The Ferrograo railway project would span nearly 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Sinop, a city on the southern edge of the rainforest, to Miritituba port along the Tapajos River, a major tributary of the Amazon. From there, commodities including soybeans and corn would be transported to a larger port near Belem—ironically, the host city of the COP30 climate conference—before being exported to China and other global markets.

The Brazilian government is eager to move forward with the railway once the country’s Supreme Court rules on the legality of altering a national park’s borders to accommodate construction and a congressional watchdog approves the plans. Meanwhile, protesters, including affected Indigenous communities, have taken to the streets and waterways of the Amazon this month to express their opposition.

Currently, agricultural products must travel through the rainforest on partially unpaved roads, with trucks spilling grain that accumulates along roadsides. The government argues that a more efficient transportation system is essential for Brazil’s economic competitiveness.

“You cannot become one of the world’s biggest exporters without infrastructure,” said Transport Minister Renan Filho in an interview with TV Band. “Today, differently from the past, central Brazil has a lot of heavy cargo and that needs to be transported.”

Cost estimates for the project have varied widely. As of July 2023, local officials projected expenses around 20 billion Brazilian reais ($3.8 billion), though independent analysts suggest the actual cost could be at least one-third higher. New financial projections are expected next year when Brazil’s Transportation Ministry submits updated studies to the congressional watchdog.

The government maintains that the railway would provide environmental benefits, claiming a single 170-car train could replace 422 trucks, thereby reducing carbon emissions in the region. However, environmentalists counter that infrastructure projects in the Amazon historically lead to further development and deforestation, as evidenced by major highway projects undertaken in the 1970s.

The proposal creates a paradox for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has made curbing Amazon deforestation a centerpiece of his administration since returning to office. While his government has made significant progress in reducing forest loss, the railway project appears at odds with these environmental commitments.

Approximately 15 Indigenous groups live along the proposed Ferrograo pathway and the waterways leading to Barcarena, the port near Belem where grain would be loaded onto ships for export. These communities fear displacement and environmental degradation.

“The cumulative impacts from Ferrograo—that’s deforestation, monoculture and toxics—show that comparing emissions is not enough,” said Alessandra Munduruku, a leader of one of the Indigenous populations potentially affected by the railway. Activists argue that anyone living in the Xingu and Tapajos river basins could lose their homes to expanding farms if the railway increases shipping capacity and makes agriculture more profitable in the region.

Critics also accuse the Lula administration of failing to properly consult with Indigenous groups despite promises to do so. “This administration said they would reach out to the Indigenous, but they just didn’t,” said Mariel Nakane, an analyst at the Socio-Environmental Institute, adding there was also “zero dialogue” during the previous administration of Jair Bolsonaro.

Government estimates indicate the railway could transport up to 40 million metric tons of soybeans and corn annually, doubling current road capacity, with potential to reach 70 million metric tons. However, the Socio-Environmental Institute warns that damage to rivers and their shores could force Indigenous peoples to relocate, further increasing the potential for agricultural expansion and deforestation.

During the COP30 summit, Chief Raoni Metuktire, a 93-year-old leader of the Kayapo people who would be among those most affected by the railway, joined over 300 Indigenous people and activists in a flotilla that traveled to Belem to protest. “I spoke to Lula and French President Emmanuel Macron so they don’t drill oil around here and do not allow Ferrograo,” Metuktire told journalists in Belem.

Local communities near Miritituba report that soybean shipments are already contaminating water and restricting fishing—effects that could worsen if a new railway increases shipping volume.

Legal challenges to the project are mounting. Melillo Dinis, a lawyer representing Indigenous groups at the non-profit Kabu Institute, is pursuing a class action lawsuit against the Brazilian government seeking 1.7 billion Brazilian reais ($320 million) in damages.

“We will litigate this, we will have civil actions, we will take this to the government watchdogs, and we will also fight if we have to if there’s an environmental licensing phase,” Dinis said, explaining that Indigenous protection groups deliberately withdrew from government discussions on Ferrograo last year after their recommendations were ignored by authorities.

As the climate summit draws to a close, the Ferrograo railway remains a powerful symbol of the tensions between Brazil’s economic ambitions and its environmental commitments—a dilemma that will likely persist long after the conference ends.