Build it and they will come For better or for worse, nothing in the development arsenal can match the power of a road to transform the land and the lives of its inhabitants. Particularly in frontier areas, roads often set off a chain of events that are difficult to anticipate.
New residents clear the land and establish new production systems.
While the changes create jobs and opportunities, they can also destroy the environment and threaten the culture and livelihood of people already living there. A significant part of the project consisted of paving a dirt highway that ends in the town of Yaviza, well short of Panama s southern border with Colombia. For many of the local residents, the need to pave the road is compelling, since much of it is only passable during the brief dry season. But others fear that an improved road would hasten the influx of newcomers into the region, threatening the cultural integrity of indigenous peoples and destroying fragile ecosystems. In response to these concerns, the road-paving plans were made part of an integrated sustainable development project that will include protected areas, land titling, and resources to help local governments properly manage land use and development.