Brazil

Federal Public Prosecutors file lawsuit calling for suspension of São Luiz do Tapajós dam

Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) filed a lawsuit today calling for suspension of environmental licensing for the controversial Sao Luiz do Tapajós dam, slated for construction on the Tapajós River, a major tributary of the Amazon. The lawsuit charges that the 6,133 MW dam project was politically approved by the administration of President Dilma Rousseff, while ignoring legal requirements for prior consultations with threatened indigenous and riverbank populations and analyses of cumulative impacts caused by a cascade of dams proposed for the Tapajós river. The MPF argues that, i

Federal Public Prosecutors Appeal to Supreme Court to Maintain Suspension of Belo Monte

Monday, September 3, 2012
Chief Justice will need to reconsider decision, or allow vote by full Supreme Court Brasília, Brazil - The Federal Public Prosecutors’ Office (Ministério Público Federal - MPF) filed an appeal today with the Brazilian Supreme Court to stop construction of the Belo Monte Dam until consultations are held with indigenous people affected by the project. Construction was allowed to continue last week due to an injunction issued by Chief Justice Carlos Ayres Britto that suspended an earlier decision of a regional federal court (TRF-1). The appeal requests that Ayres Britto reconsider his de

Statement by Indigenous Leader on Occupation of the Belo Monte Pimental Dam site

Indigenous protestors at Pimental coffer dam, Belo Monte dam site,
Statement by Mukuku Xikrin, indigenous spokesperson on Day 10 of the occupation of Pimental coffer dam, Belo Monte. "Today we are in day 10 of the occupation.We had the meeting on Thursday with Norte Energia but did not reach any agreement..."

Tribes Decry Dilma's Plans to Build Dams in Indigenous Territory

The Macuxi Tribe are fighting against the proposed Cotingo Dam in Raposa Serra do Sol territory
In 2005, after years of fighting, the Macuxi indigenous people finally won title from the Lula administration to their own indigenous territory, called Raposa Serra do Sol. Then followed a heated legal battle to remove non-indigenous people from the lands, including ranchers and rice growers who had illegally invaded the area in the 1970s. The Brazilian Supreme Court decided to enforce the removal of the non-indigenous people from the territory in 2009. Now over 50,000 indigenous people in the area are fighting a new threat: a Dilma administration proposal to build hydroelectric dams inside of

Hydropower Industry Needs Standards, not Scorecards, to be Sustainable

Itaipú dam
Itaipú dam The International Hydropower Association (IHA) just launched the “Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol” (HSAP) at its bi-yearly Congress in the town of Foz do Iguaçú, Brazil, last week. The Protocol is in reality only a scorecard that rewards hydropower companies and financiers with a greenwashed stamp of approval; it does not represent a true step towards the actual practice of sustainability in the sector. The Protocol is a risky way of helping developers achieve true social and environmental sustainability, because it doesn’t require developers to meet any s

World Rivers Review: Focus on the New Dam Builders - December 2010

Special Focus: The New Dam BuildersChina, Brazil and India are not only growing global economic powerhouses, they are increasingly fueling a dam-building boom outside their borders. Our campaigners in the field report on these newly powerful dam builders and the regions they are targeting. Download the December 2010 issue Mekong River: A new report urges a ten-year dam-building freeze on the Mekong River. Commentary: Patrick McCully bids a fond Farewell as he leaves his role as Executive Director of International Rivers. Making Waves: News and notes on the worldwide movement to protect rive

Environmental Impact Studies on Dams Count for Little in Amazon

Tuesday, August 10, 2010
ALTAMIRA, Brazil, Aug 10 (IPS) - "It's a fait accompli," acknowledges André Villas-Boas, head of the independent SocioEnvironmental Institute (ISA), resigned to the fact that the legal actions and protests have failed to block the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in Brazil's Amazon jungle region. But the battles lost against megaprojects harmful to the environment and to indigenous peoples and other local communities have not discouraged activists from mobilising. However, they have made social organisations and experts question the government's decisio

Brazil to Build $15.6 Billion in Dams in Amazon Region (Water And Wastewater International)

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
On Dec. 10, 2007, a consortium of Brazilian companies won an auction to build and operate the 3,150 megawatt (MW) Santo Antonio dam on the Madeira River in the Amazon rainforest near Bolivia. Consorcio Madeira Energetica, led by large construction company Construtora Norberto Odebrecht SA, beat out two other consortiums formed by Spain’s Endesa SA and Franco–Belgian utility Suez. The winning group includes participation of state–owned electricity company Furnas Centrais Elétricas SA, engineering company Andrade Gutierrez Participações SA, Cemig Geração e Transmissão SA power utilit

4% of Global Warming Due to Dams, Says New Research

Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Large dams may be one of the single most important contributors to global warming, releasing 104 million metric tonnes of methane each year. This estimate was recently published in a peer-reviewed journal by Ivan Lima and colleagues from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). "There is now more than enough evidence to show that large dams are a major source of climate-changing pollution," says Patrick McCully, Executive Director of International Rivers. "Climate policy makers must address this issue." Lima’s calculations imply that the world’s 52,000 large dams contribute m

Fizzy Science: Big Hydro’s Role in Global Warming

Friday, November 17, 2006
This op-ed first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, November 17, 2006 It comes as a surprise to most people, but the reservoirs behind the world’s dams are likely a major source of global warming pollution. In the case of big reservoirs in the tropics -- where most new dams are proposed -- hydropower can actually emit more greenhouse gases per kilowatt-hour than fossil fuels, including dirty coal. Climate change scientist Philip Fearnside estimates that hydro projects in the Brazilian Amazon emit at least twice as much greenhouse gas as coal plants. The worst example studied, Balbina D
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