Brazilian justice on Tuesday banned the construction of a zip line on the emblematic Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, after strong opposition from local residents and environmental activists.
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this 396 meter high hill welcomes more than 1.6 million visitors each year thanks to a cable car. Work to build a zip line on this symbol of Brazil began in September 2022, with drilling into the rock.
The case was then taken to court in 2023. In his decision, consulted by AFP, magistrate Paulo André Manfredini declared void all administrative acts of the Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Brazil (Iphan) aimed at installing the zip line.
The institute and the company carrying out the project will have to pay 30 million reals (nearly 5 million euros) for “collective moral damage”, declared the judge, underlining the “invaluable value of Sugar Loaf not only for Brazilians, but also for the world population”.
The project of the developer Companhia Caminho Aéreo Pao de Açúcar envisaged that visitors would descend via four zip line lines, reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h, connecting the famous hill to its neighbor Urca.
The judge ordered the company to present, within two months, a plan to recover the already damaged area.
According to the prosecution, Companhia Caminho Aéreo Pão de Açúcar “mutilated the rock” without the necessary authorizations between September 15, 2022 and February 6, 2023.
“It’s a great victory,” Gricel Osorio Hor-Meyll, activist for the Grupo Açao Ecológica, told AFP.
In addition to the perforations, residents and activists denounced the possible effects of the construction on local flora and fauna.
