If you can’t build well, then build nothing at all

Esteemed Brazilian scientist Eneas Salati once said that the best thing that could be done for the Amazon was to blow up all the roads. By 2050, Earth could accumulate another 25 million kilometres of paved roads, according to the International Energy Agency — enough to encircle the planet more than 600 times. When a new road penetrates intact forest, it can facilitate illegal deforestation, poaching, fires and land investors bent on encouraging a building boom — factors that are rarely considered in cost–benefit analyses of planned infrastructure projects