Philip Fearnside spent 50 years studying how deforestation, dams and highways reshape the Amazon

Philip Fearnside’s research has calculated the costs of losing the Amazon on account of deforestation, dams and highways The Amazon rainforest has been described in terms of its enormous size, biodiversity and importance to the global climate. But for Philip Fearnside, understanding the forest has also meant asking a more practical question: what does it cost when the forest is cleared or altered? Fearnside began working in the Amazon in the 1970s, studying agricultural settlements along Brazil’s Trans-Amazonian Highway. Since then, his research has examined the consequences of deforestation, large infrastructure projects, hydroelectric dams and roads. A recent Mongabay profile marks 50 years of his field research. His work has included research on forest carbon, deforestation and infrastructure, as well as contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).Starting with the highwayFearnside's Amazon research began during a period when Brazil was aggressively promoting settlement and development of the rainforest. In the 1970s, he spent about two years living in agricultural settlements around Altamira, Pará, established along the Trans-Amazonian Highway. Rather ...