In the coming months, route 174, which connects Rosario (Santa Fe) with Victoria (Entre Ríos), will have a new concessionaire. Faced with the ongoing bidding process, dozens of neighbors and activists seek to include the construction of wildlife crossings in the commitments that the next awardee will assume. However, the request, aimed at protecting the fauna of the Paraná wetlands, is stuck in the Argentine justice system.
On this route, capybaras, coypus, wildcats, foxes, turtles, and caimans are run over. Franco Peruggino, from Mundo Aparte NGO, mentions that this situation has been common for 20 years since the opening of the Rosario – Victoria bridge over the Paraná River.
Although this roadwork has shortened the connection times and facilitated commercial flow between two provinces, it also involved the intervention of the wetlands of the Paraná River. “The entire route is within the Multiple Use Reserve, a protected natural area with a very rich biodiversity,” explains Peruggino.
The solution in this case would be to install tunnels under the embankment so that animals can cross to the other side of the wetland safely. “For animals, crossing a road can be as dangerous as a person trying to cross a highway on foot,” explains Sebastián Fermani, Conservation Director at the Wildlife Conservation Foundation.
The judicial case for wildlife crossings in the wetland
After the first concession – which lasted 20 years – National Highways is preparing to award the maintenance and administration of 60 kilometers of route 174 to a new company in September.
Peruggino mentions that if the construction of wildlife crossings is not demanded now, a unique opportunity will be lost. “We intend for the new company to be required to build them by mandate of the bidding conditions; otherwise, we will have to wait another 30 years until the concession ends,” he points out.
In February, a public hearing was held to draft the final bidding conditions for the new tender. Tunnels or passages for safe transit of wild animals are not included in the preliminary documents.
Faced with this situation, Mundo Aparte – along with more than 70 organizations – filed an environmental injunction in the Federal Court of Rosario in early April. The initiative seeks a court order to force the inclusion of wildlife crossings in the final bidding conditions.
However, in the courts of Rosario, they declared themselves incompetent and transferred the case to Victoria. There, Judge Federico Martin also declared himself incompetent to address the demand. The request is now stalled in the Court of Appeals.
“Clearly, the territorial jurisdiction exists. I don’t think the technical part is the problem; no one dares to issue the injunction, they don’t want to affect interests. We are very distressed by the situation,” says Peruggino.
A necessary solution
In 2008, the first aerial wildlife overpass in Latin America was built over National Route 101 in Misiones. This project helped mitigate impacts on the Urugua-í-Foerster biological corridor.
Sebastián Fermani, from the Wildlife Conservation Foundation, mentions that these structures are still very few considering the level of impact that the road network has on the country’s fauna. “Wildlife roadkill is a silent but devastating threat to our biodiversity,” he states.
The specialist believes that the new concession of National Route 174 (Rosario – Victoria) represents a key opportunity to replicate these types of solutions in other regions of the country.
