The Amazon, with its immense ecological and cultural wealth, faces pressing challenges in balancing biome protection and infrastructure development. This vast region remains one of the poorest in South America, with limited access to economic opportunities, essential services, and poor living standards.
Boosting the bioeconomy, which involves economic activities that protect forests, can improve livelihoods in a sustainable way. However, this potential is held back by major infrastructure issues: poor transportation networks, unreliable energy access, and limited digital connectivity. To unlock the bioeconomy’s benefits, we need to address these gaps while ensuring the Amazon’s unique ecosystems are protected.
The World Bank Transport team used data analytics to explore the gaps in transport, digital access, and bioeconomy infrastructure in the Amazon areas of Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
The Amazon’s Four Connectivity Clusters show the disparity in connectivity
We used advanced technology and data sources to identify key infrastructure areas in the Amazon. By analyzing satellite images, Google Building Data (which helps estimate population density), Open StreetMaps, and mobile phone data (which indicates digital connectivity), the World Bank transport team discovered four main infrastructure clusters.
- High Connectivity/Urban Areas (5%): These areas have strong transport and digital connections and are the main centers of economic activity in the Amazon. They are the cities that serve as hubs for services, infrastructure, and commerce, but they are surrounded by many disconnected communities. By investing more in these cities, we can turn them into drivers of regional development, helping to connect rural areas and promote inclusive growth throughout the Amazon.
- Low Connectivity/Rural Area (60%): These areas have poor infrastructure and digital connections, making it hard for residents to access essential services. The lack of connectivity means these communities struggle to integrate into the broader economy, often lacking proper healthcare, education, and market access. Improving infrastructure in these rural areas is vital to reduce isolation, provide essential services, and promote better economic integration across the Amazon.
- No Connectivity/Remote Settlements (9%): These areas lack transport or digital infrastructure, leading to severe isolation, although they have a low population. Without reliable access, the people living here face food shortages and economic challenges. Because of the low population density, investments should focus on affordable, scalable, and community-driven solutions to improve basic services and boost resilience.
- No Connectivity/Pristine Forests (26%): These untouched ecosystems are vital for biodiversity and must be strictly protected from human activities.
Waterways are an untapped, sustainable transport solution
Waterways can be a competitive, cost-effective, and eco-friendly alternative to roads. However, it’s important to develop and maintain them carefully to avoid harming aquatic ecosystems.
Around 51% of the Amazon has natural high to medium connectivity to waterways. However, limited investment in waterway infrastructure has restricted economic activity and kept many communities isolated. Despite most cities in the Brazilian Amazon being connected by rivers, waterway services suffer from low frequency, inconsistent water levels, and reliance on expensive, polluting fuel. Of Brazil’s 63,000 km of rivers, only about 20,000 km are navigable, and just 6,500 km are used for regular commercial shipping.
In contrast to waterways, 33% of the Amazon region has high or medium connectivity to all-season roads. The road network includes official highways like the 4,000 km Trans-Amazonian highway, built in the 1970s, and many unofficial roads that contribute to deforestation. Since the late 1950s, the Amazon’s transportation system has focused on road transport, often ignoring the unique needs of each area and leading to unsustainable growth.
Mapping the digital divide in the Amazon
Digital connectivity in the Amazon is significantly underdeveloped, showing major regional disparities. Using Google’s building footprint data (as a proxy for population density and development) and Ookla’s internet speed metrics, the World Bank found that only 8% of the Amazon benefits from high building density and high-speed internet.
Meanwhile, 12% of the Amazon has high building density but inadequate internet speeds, indicating areas where urban development has progressed, yet digital connectivity has lagged. This creates urgent opportunities for targeted digital improvements.
In the most remote areas, 38% of the Amazon has low building density and low internet speed, showing severe connectivity issues for dispersed communities. Additionally, 42% of the region lacks comprehensive data coverage, making it difficult to assess digital infrastructure needs.
Closing these digital gaps is crucial for inclusive development, integrating Amazonian communities into the broader economy, and improving access to services like healthcare and education. Improved digital connectivity would also open new market opportunities and reduce inequality in the region.
Unlocking the potential for bioeconomy and connectivity
The Amazon’s bioeconomy includes renewable resources like brazil nuts, cupuaçu, açaí, and aquatic resources like pirarucu fish, which are vital for economic and ecological sustainability. However, 56% of pirarucu production occurs in low-connectivity areas, creating logistical challenges, raising costs for producers, and limiting market expansion. These constraints reduce revenue for small-scale farmers and hinder food security efforts in the region.
How to achieve sustainable infrastructure development in the Amazon
Given its vast and diverse landscape, infrastructure investments in the Amazon should be prioritized based on the specific needs of each area to maximize impact and minimize environmental risks. Improving infrastructure in bioeconomy-rich areas can enhance supply chains and strengthen food security, provided it safeguards biodiversity and respects conservation priorities.
By aligning infrastructure investments with conservation goals, the Amazon can foster long-term economic growth while preserving one of the world’s most valuable ecosystems. Advanced spatial data analytics are crucial in identifying strategic investment opportunities that support sustainable development and conservation in the Amazon.
Source: blogs.worldbank.org