Conservationist builds bridges in Amazon for monkey crossings

Conservationist builds bridges in Amazon for monkey crossings

The Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series dedicated to reporting on our planet's environmental challenges and their solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative partners with CNN to raise awareness of key sustainability issues and inspire positive action.

The threat of road traffic

The first time Brazilian biologist Fernanda Abra saw a Groves' titi monkey, one of the world's 25 most endangered primate species, it was positioned right next to a road. “It was completely exposed to traffic hazards,” Abra remembers.

Although the numbers vary greatly, in Brazil it is estimated 475 million Vertebrates killed annually by vehicles. Brazil has the fourth largest road network in the world and is home to the Amazon rainforest.

Solutions through bridges in the treetop area

Fernanda Abra, a postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Center for Conservation and Sustainability, is trying to solve this problem by building bridges at tree canopy level. This allows tree-dwelling species to cross roads safely.

As part of its Reconecta project, Abra has constructed more than 30 canopy crossings on the BR-174, a 3,300-kilometer-long highway through the Amazon, in collaboration with local partners, including the indigenous Waimiri-Atroari, who have important knowledge of the wildlife in their territory in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Roraima. In 2024 she was awarded the Whitley Fund for Nature Award award that honors grassroots conservationists.

The hope for positive changes

Abra hopes that these structures can help improve the situation of some endangered and threatened species in Brazil, such as the Groves' titi, the tailor's marmoset and the Guiana spider monkey. Each bridge is equipped with cameras to monitor the animals that use it, as well as those that approach but turn back. The structures can be redesigned to encourage animals to cross.

“It is wonderful to see the video of the monkey using my treetop bridge every time because we are preventing the situation of road mortality,” says Abra.

Growth and networking for a better future

Reconnecting forest fragments that have been separated by human infrastructure can also provide other benefits, such as access to more food resources and potential mates for the animals. “If we connect the population, we can strengthen it and enable it to grow,” explains Abra.

This effort could be crucial as Brazil continues to build new roads. In 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced plans to invest nearly $200 billion in infrastructure, including new highways.

Global approaches to animal connectivity

Similar approaches are used worldwide. In California will a flyover built over the 10-lane 101 Freeway, allowing animals such as mountain lions, coyotes and bobcats to cross safely.

Abra also plans further growth. The Reconecta project is now expanding to Alta Floresta, a city in the west-central state of Mato Grosso. She works with representatives from various government agencies as well as non-profit organizations and universities. The treetop bridges will be complemented by measures such as speed crossings to slow traffic and deer crossing signs to warn motorists.

A commitment to nature conservation

She hopes to eventually expand to other parts of Brazil. “What amazes me about Brazil is the wealth we have, the wonderful biodiversity,” says Abra, “and I will do everything I can, as a person, as a professional, as a conservationist and researcher, to protect this rich biodiversity.”