The Brazilian government is constructing the Belo Monte mega-dam on the Xingu River in the Amazon. [x] The Belo Monte Dam requires the excavation of two large canals, which will flood the surrounding forest area, thereby displacing fifty thousand Xingu Indians within the Altamira community. The flooding and the environmental ramifications, consequently, could profoundly affect the lives and welfare of the local population. Accessed June 19, 2012. As well as increasing hunger and lower incomes, several said they suffered depression as a result of the sudden collapse of the riverscape they had grown up with. The complex cost twice the initial budget, equivalent to more than 10 billion dollars when it was built. “Damming Brazil.” E-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work, [xvii] “Belo Monte Dam: A Spearhead for Brazil’s Dam-Building Attack on the Amazon?”, [xviii] “Belo Monte: Brazil’s Damned Democracy.” Al Jazeera, May 17, 2012. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access. A video depicting the Drop of Water Movement was posted online on November 16, 2011, in attempts to involve more Brazilian citizens in the construction plans of the Belo Monte Dam. [v] Li, Wenhong, Fu Rong, Negron Juarez Robinson I., and Fernandes Katia. 3 Belo Monte is a keystone project … The national water agency and the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources did not respond to the Guardian’s request for a comment. Belo Monte is slated to be the fourth largest dam in the world, estimated to produce 11,233 megawatts (MW) per hour when operating at maximum capacity, with around 516 km 2 of flooded area (Fearnside, 2005, Hall and Branford, 2012). [xiii], The Brazilian government tried justifying the harmful impacts of the Belo Monte Dam with compensation and resettlement for the Xingu natives. The Belo Monte dam project defies constitutional and international policies, and will have devastating, permanent social and environmental consequences. Please accept this article as a free contribution from COHA, but if re-posting, please afford authorial and institutional attribution. The studies suggest engineers failed to anticipate the impact of water shortages on the Pimental dam at Belo Monte, which has been closed and turned into a barrier. [xxiv] Amazon Watch has suggested “retrofitting existing hydroelectric infrastructure” as a sustainable alternative to the Belo Monte Dam, a prospect that would be both energy efficient and non-threatening to the Xingu Indians. [xxiii] Amazon Watch. The Guardian and El País have seen a recent report by Norte Energia which warned that the fall in water levels in recent weeks has exposed a vulnerable section of the Pimental dam wall, which is separate from the barrier housing most of the turbines, to waves that sometimes form during tropical storms or strong winds blowing across the reservoir. “If I were living downstream of the dam, I would move upriver … It is absurd this was not foreseen.”. The project developer has yet to negotiate compensation and relocation with the people in a transparent way. According to some estimates the Belo Monte Dam would potentially displace 16,000 natives from their ancestral grounds and endanger 1000 reptile, bird and fish species [3]. This is substantially below the minimum of 1,000 cubic metres a second that planning documents say is needed to guarantee water quality in the reservoirs and sufficient downstream discharge to ensure a healthy ecosystem, including for a turtle refuge, and indigenous and riverine communities’ navigation. Local politicians will urge him to push ahead with another mega-project in the volta grande, a giant new goldmine called Belo Sun, which would be powered by the dam. [xvi] However, in 2005 the government began demonstrating less consideration for the people of Xingu when the senate abruptly approved the Belo Monte Dam “under an ‘urgent, super-urgent’ regime.” This decision did not include the prior consultation of the Xingu Indians as required by the Brazilian constitution.[xvii]. On October 27, 2011, the Belo Monte Dam construction site was occupied by 400 indigenous people, fishermen and riverine community members. Indigenous and riverine communities allied to oppose the dam system, which blocks one of the Amazon’s biggest tributaries with 2.1m tonnes of concrete and 79.2m cubic metres of earth. Prosecutors involved in the Car Wash corruption investigation found Belo Monte contractors were paid inflated fees in return for kickbacks to political parties. Economists questioned the viability of a scheme paid for with pension funds and tax revenues, but which is designed to run at only 40% of its 11,200MW capacity. Global heating will increase the struggle for water. To all of the Xingu natives, except the Kayapo and Suya tribes, the river signifies the “house of God,” which is now vulnerable to destruction with the arrival of the dam. Others described how they used to catch filhote, one of the most prized river species, weighing more than 100kg before the dam, but now rarely catch one of even 20kg. “Stop the Belo Monte Monster Dam.” Accessed June 19, 2012. Doi: 10.1098/rstb.2007.0022. Accessed June 19, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/brazils-indigeneous-awa-tribe_n_1574374.html, [xx] Rio+20 Portal. Contrary to the popular belief that the Belo 'Monster' Dam that has no notable benefits, the Belo Monte Dam does retain a few major positive impacts, especially to Brazil's people and economy. There is already insufficient food in this area.”. Critics are of the opinion that the plant will be highly inefficient and generate only 10% of its capacity during the low-water season in the region. Your support powers our independent journalism, Available for everyone, funded by readers. The case of Belo Monte and the five additional dams planned upstream (including the Altamira/Babaquara Dam) indicate the need for Brazil to reform its environmental assessment and licensing system to include the impacts of multiple interdependent projects. Other CABI sites. [viii], In a comparable case during April of 2002, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) financed the Cana Brava dam on the Tocantinus River in the Amazon that flooded the region inherited by the Avás-Canoeiros indigenous population. It … “Stop the Belo Monte Monster Dam.” Accessed June 19, 2012. http://amazonwatch.org/work/belo-monte-dam. The report says the problem arose as a result of unusually low water flows into the reservoir, with several days in early October when it dropped to 750 cubic metres a second. She considers this a case of ecocide. The Belo Monte project has been beset with problems since its inception during the era of Brazil’s military dictatorship. Operator faces choice of weakening 14km barrier or potentially devastating a biodiversity hotspot, Fri 8 Nov 2019 11.00 EST In response, close to a thousand indigenous people from the Amazon region participated in a week long protest outside the Brazilian Congress to express their grievances regarding human rights violations, including the lack of consultation in the Belo Monte Dam project, especially concerning land titles. [iii] Brody, Thyra. Two hundred representatives of the Mebegokre Kayapó Indians met for five days to discuss the Belo Monte dam and four other dams which will devastate their lands. Kararaô Dam began in 1975. The government, however, wants more exploitation of Amazonian resources. “I’ve been fishing here for 35 years but all the fish have fled. From climate change to biodiversity loss - documenting human impacts on the environment. What we did not imagine is the weakness of the civil engineering,” he said. Change of the Standardized Precipitation Index, its Potential Cause and Implications to Future Climate Change in the Amazon Region.” The Royal Society 363. Environmentalists and scientists warned this would devastate one of the world’s most unique biodiversity hotspots. The Belo Monte Dam project along the Xingu River had its preliminary plans drawn under Brazil’s military dictatorship and was a highly controversial environmental project from the onset. “Alternative voices from Rio+20.” Al Jazeera, June 23, 2012. “That there is already a shortage of water calls into question the entire viability of Belo Monte hydroelectric project,” Thais Santi, the public prosecutor for Altamira, said. Accessed, [xix] Sibaja, Marco. “Damming Brazil.” E-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work. Additionally, two indigenous groups currently reside alongside the dam and its central powerhouse, an area known as “the dry stretch,” but the government’s environmental study failed to identify their reserves as “directly impacted,” thus negating the groups’ rights to consultation and compensation. “It is already apparent this project is a mistake,” she said. Locals explain how the waterway is narrowing and becoming shallower. In the short term, the authorities face the dilemma of whether to accept the possible erosion of the dam wall or a further decline in water quality. "The ruling that Belo Monte should conduct a new Environmental Impact Assessment is directly connected with the disastrous flooding of the Madeira River," said Pontes. Brazil’s 2011-2020 energy-expansion plan is decisively dependent upon output from Brazil’s large hydroelectric dams, and the Belo Monte Dam is projected to bring about a 22 million home surplus once the Brazilian government completes the project. 25, 2012. http://www.bicusa.org/en/Project.6.aspx. However, construction of the dam has continued despite its serious backlash, mainly due to the influence of Brazil’s developing economy. [iv] The drought will severely inhibit agricultural practices, as severe droughts can be expected to augment the flammability of forests and thus increase the risk of losing crops and livestock. Environmental activists believe that the project will damage the rainforest and threaten the survival of local tribes. Last modified on Tue 8 Dec 2020 05.41 EST. 1498 (2008): 1767-1772. Planning for what was then named the . Environmental Impact. Environmental Impact Studies for the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam is a collection of analyses signed by 28 researchers, part of a group of 42 researchers from various Brazilian universities and research institutions, and some abroad. "The hasty and incomplete studies [to build dams on the] Madeira caused serious damage to the population just as with Belo Monte, and it may also impair the production of energy." 160 DA Cunha, LV Ferreira: Impacts from the Belo Monte Hydroelectric construction support to planning and conservation actions that can reduce the environmental impacts of … “People’s Summit: an Alternative to UN Convention.” Herald, Online, June 21, 2012. [iv] Amazon Watch. The Belo Monte Dam project along the Xingu River had its preliminary plans drawn under Brazil’s military dictatorship and was a highly controversial environmental project from the onset. Monga Bay, March 23, 2012. [i]  It views the dam as a vital and legitimate development project, one that is projected to sustain economic growth as demands for dependable water sources, power generation and irrigation systems increase. The 11 October document – Urgent action to control the level of the Belo Monte HPP Xingu Reservoir - is signed by Norte Energia’s CEO and addressed to the head of the national water agency. The Belo Monte Dam is being built in the state of Pará, Brazil. [viii] “Belo Monte: Brazil’s Damned Democracy.” Al Jazeera, May 17, 2012. Upstream dams were not even considered by the government in its designs for Belo Monte,[xv] which is significant as upstream dams can cause permanent flooding. The project has been facing severe criticism regarding its inefficiency and anticipated impact on the environment. [xxi] According to an Al Jazeera article published on June 22, a young delegate from Canada representing the Indigenous Environmental Network named Ta’Kaiya who attended the People’s Summit said, “the development – the drilling, mining and damming – is affecting everyone, our communities and the Earth, our home and the only planet we have.”[xxii]. [ix], Experts anticipate that the Belo Monte Dam project will bring further detrimental effects to the Xingu inhabitants. If allowed to proceed, Belo Monte will divert 80% of the flow of the Xingu River, flooding an area of 516 square kilometres in the Amazon basin, most of which is standing forest. [xiv], Brazil’s 1988 constitution initially required congressional approval of any dams threatening indigenous land, which necessitated changes in the original designs of Belo Monte to avoid flooding the Xingu natives’ reserves. The government might start improve the efficiency of pre-existing dams by “[reducing] the startling amount of energy lost during transmission, [replacing] energy-inefficient household products, and [updating] old and dialing generators.”[xxv] Retrofitting the Belo Monte Dam would be a worthy alternative and may ultimately prove critical to the survival of the Xingu natives. Accessed June 24, 2012. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/06/2012622175745190650.html. It is unclear whether more construction is needed to reinforce the Pimental dam wall, which would require a hefty additional investment. © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. “The structural risks are a surprise.”. [xxiv] “Belo Monte Dam: A Spearhead for Brazil’s Dam-Building Attack on the Amazon?”, [xxv] “Belo Monte: Brazil’s Damned Democracy.” Al Jazeera, May 17, 2012. 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