Modelo estratégico geográficamente explícito del corredor de viabilidad ambiental, social y económico de la ferrovía bioceánica en territorio peruano y brasileño

Abstract

Several attempts to propose a transcontinental railway corridor to connect the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean have occurred in recent history. Brazil and Peru are strategically moving towards the proposal of a bioceanic railway project. The proposal is in debate and concerns with pros and cons. If in one hand the marketing and macro -logistics perspectives are the main drivers for the project, on the other hand, the sensitive environmental and social perspectives are the main limitations. Brazil, in its central west region, is the world main producer of soybeans and corn. The majority of grain-oriented production has international markets, including China, as main destine. Peru is the main phosphate exporter to China, besides some agricultural products. In 2015, China presented a project reporting preliminary feasibility of the railway corridor, which was rejected by the Peruvian government due to the negative environmental and social impacts. Other than sensitive natural and social aspects, another important and very complex aspect of the project is the topography and morphology. In the area, the topography ranges from flat terrain from the Amazonian plain, which presents extensive areas of clay soils to the Peruvian coast, obligatorily crossing the Andes Mountains. As reported in the literature, the decision process for transport corridors is complex and requires standpoints from economic, technical, and environmental viability. The public, social and environmental policies included in the transport plan require a large volume of data, actors, and opinions that are typically contradictory. Thus, GIS has been used in modern transportation planning as a platform to allow quality results and in a timely manner. In this context, this research proposes and analyzes a geospatial model to designed the feasibility corridors for the Peru - Brazil railway regarding different scenarios that integrate environmental, economic and social aspects. The methodology brings together AHP multicriteria analysis techniques into the GIS framework in an organized manner. The results allow easy comparative visualization of the alternatives and calculate the best viable path. The organization of data and transparency in decision rules are two main attractions of the model, that now reached an international audience. The solution is flexible since it allows the rules to be dynamically molded, which makes it possible to reproduce the study. The investigation touches two critical and timely themes: transportation Infrastructure and environment. Regarding the social impact, these themes permeate aspects of governance, social and environmental justice, areas that will be positively impacted if a comprehensive transportation planning approach is put in practice.