Amazon Bridges Eliminate Roadkill, Aid Wildlife

In Brazil’s Amazon, Projeto Reconecta installed eight canopy bridges that have facilitated 15,000 safe crossings for arboreal animals over 15 months, resulting in zero recorded roadkill in the area. The project, led by biologist Fernanda Abra, addresses the fragmentation of habitats caused by roadways, which threatens biodiversity and gene diversity. Camera traps document animal usage and inform bridge design, adapting to the needs of species like spider monkeys and the critically endangered Alta Floresta titi monkey.

Reconecta’s success has led Brazil’s federal transport department to adopt the rope bridge design as the national standard for highways. The initiative began with a pilot project alongside the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous people, installing 32 bridges over BR-174, and is now expanding to other Brazilian biomes, including the Pantanal and Atlantic Forest, and neighboring Suriname.

The program aims to reverse the negative impacts of nearly 9 million mammals killed on Brazil’s roads annually and prevent the loss of critical species like primates, whose decline disrupts seed dispersal and forest health.