Volume III: Infrastructure Development and Ape Conservation

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Infrastructure development in Africa and Asia is expanding at breakneck speed, especially in biodiversity-rich developing nations. This trend reflects governments’ efforts to promote economic growth in response to increasing populations, rising consumption rates and persistent inequalities. Large-scale infrastructure development is regularly touted as a way to meet the growing demand for energy, transport and food—and as a key to poverty alleviation. In practice, however, road networks, hydropower dams and “development corridors” tend to adversely affect local populations, natural habitats and biodiversity. Such projects typically weaken the capacity of ecosystems to maintain the ecological functions on which wildlife and human communities depend. These effects are compounded by the challenges that developing nations face as a result of climate change.