ALTER DO CHAO, Brazil: Brazils Alter do Chao, a sleepy village that blends rainforest and beaches, bet on tourism and scored big. Visitors flocked here to eat Amazonian river fish while gazing out over the water, and to take day trips offering the chance to meet Indigenous people and see pink dolphins.
But this once pristine place is discovering that the perils of becoming a cant-miss destination extend beyond hordes of weekend warriors sapping its unspoiled charm. Problems rife throughout the Amazon region land grabbing, illegal deforestation and unsanctioned construction are plaguing this ecotourism hot spot.
By 2018, land grabbing had grown so pervasive that one of Brazils environmental protection agencies said Alter do Chao needed urgent interventions against the rise of invaders so it could preserve 67% of its…