Air transport and sustainability: Lessons from Amazonas

Some states of Amazonia (or the Legal Brazilian Amazon) chose to develop from the exploitation of the rainforests to implement further agriculture and cattle ranching. To sustain this economic development model, an extensive road network was implemented in the region. Since local authorities are inefficient in monitoring and enforcing environmental laws in such a large region, those roads have been providing unrestricted mobility of people and cargo. This is leading to ever spreading deforestation.In contrast, Amazonas the largest state in Brazil chose a high-tech industrial development model, based on the production of high-added value products. By having an operational air transport network, but virtually no more than one major interstate highway, deforestation has been avoided, with 98% of its area still covered with virgin forests. The reason behind this phenomenon is that air transport provides only restricted mobility to passengers and freight, and the possibility exists to provide unrestricted accessibility to any remote site. Accessibility was particularly important in 2005, when the atypical dry season left many communities in Amazonas all but isolated if it were not for air transport, paramount to disaster relief. Drawing on this example, the paper examines whether air transport should be considered seriously as a major transport option for the sustainable development of Amazonas.