Produced by INCAB – the National Initiative for the Conservation of the Brazilian Tapir, the documentary highlights the chronic problem of wildlife-vehicle collisions in the state and the lack of effective mitigation measures implemented by highway operators
Since 2013, 48 people have died on state and federal highways in Mato Grosso do Sul as a result of vehicle collisions with tapirs. Approximately 100 tapirs are also killed each year on the state’s roads.
These figures reveal a chronic problem that affects not only the survival of tapirs but, above all, the safety of highway users throughout the state.
Now, for the first time, the story is being told by the people who live along these highways and are directly affected by such collisions, whether by the loss of loved ones, physical consequences, or property damage. Their stories are featured in the documentary miniseries Vidas em Risco, which premieres on May 18 on the social media channels of INCAB – the National Initiative for the Conservation of the Brazilian Tapir, a project of IPÊ – Institute for Ecological Research.
The lowland tapir is a large mammal that can weigh up to 300 kilograms, which makes any collision with the species potentially devastating for both animals and people.
For more than a decade, institutions and researchers have worked to identify and propose strategies to mitigate this problem. However, no effective measures have yet been implemented by the operators of highways in Mato Grosso do Sul.
The highways with the highest number of tapir collisions in the state are MS-040, which connects the capital city of Campo Grande to Santa Rita do Pardo, and the stretch of BR-267 between Nova Alvorada do Sul and the border with São Paulo State.
Produced by INCAB-IPÊ in partnership with the Rodovias Seguras para Todos Observatory – a coalition of six conservation organizations working in Mato Grosso do Sul—Lives at Risk is divided into three episodes of approximately 10 minutes each. The miniseries traveled along some of the highways where tapir-vehicle collisions occur in the state—BR-267, MS-040, MS-134, MS-145, MS-338, and MS-395—and interviewed 17 people affected by the lack of mitigation measures to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions and make the highways of Mato Grosso do Sul safe for all, both people and animals. Among the protagonists of this story are relatives of the victims of one of the most emblematic tapir-vehicle collisions in the state, which occurred in September 2015 on BR-267, when eight people traveling in a van lost their lives.
“For the first time in the history of our efforts to find solutions to wildlife-vehicle collisions in Mato Grosso do Sul, it is not researchers who are speaking about this serious problem, but the people who have experienced—and continue to experience firsthand—the impacts of insufficient action by highway operators. We hope their voices can reach places we have yet to reach, so that the responsible authorities urgently assume their responsibility to implement safe roads. The miniseries also emphasizes that safe roads are a right for everyone. Many of the people interviewed were unaware that their right to a safe roadway had been violated,” says Patricia Medici, Coordinator of INCAB-IPÊ.
The documentary miniseries Lives at Risk can be accessed on the INCAB-IPÊ YouTube channel or through links available on the Instagram pages of INCAB and IPÊ.
A Decade of Efforts to Tackle the Problem
INCAB-IPÊ has been addressing wildlife-vehicle collisions in Mato Grosso do Sul for over a decade and carried out systematic monitoring on more than 30 highways across the state over a seven-year period (2013–2020).
Based on the data collected during this monitoring effort, technical reports and Mitigation Plans for the MS-040 and BR-267 highways were prepared and submitted to the relevant authorities. However, none of the proposed measures have been implemented.
In 2016, a Civil Inquiry was opened regarding MS-040 and, subsequently, in 2018, a Public Civil Action related to the highway was filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Mato Grosso do Sul against AGESUL, the highway management agency; IMASUL, the environmental licensing authority; and the contractors involved, due to the absence of mitigation measures on that roadway. Despite all actions proposed by INCAB-IPÊ, MS-040 continues to be known as the “Tapir Highway,” and wildlife-vehicle collisions continue to occur. Since the highway was inaugurated in 2015, eight people have died there in collisions involving tapirs. The situation is no different on BR-267, one of the oldest highways in Brazil. Since 2013, 15 people have died on BR-267 in vehicle collisions with tapirs. In 2018, a Civil Inquiry was initiated by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office involving the managers of this highway—the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT)—and the licensing authority, IBAMA, to discuss mitigation strategies.
To this day, both legal proceedings remain unresolved.
