Letting the Xingu Run Freely

By: 
Berklee Lowrey-Evans

Early this morning, hundreds of people began an occupation of the Belo Monte Dam site near Altamira, Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon. They've dug a channel in the coffer dam to restore the flow of the mighty Xingu River, erected crosses along the edge in honor of the hundreds who have died defending the Amazon, and planted 500 native açai trees to stabilize the banks of the river. Our Amazon Program Director Brent Millikan is there, along with our partners from Amazon Watch and Movimento Xingu Para Sempre, and river activists from as far away as Turkey; they're all working together to reconnect the mighty waters of the Xingu River, protect the rights and livelihoods of the thousands of people who depend on a healthy Xingu, and make sure that rivers are on the agenda at next week's Rio+20 Earth Summit.

Watch a video of this historic event:

and then check out some photos.

More information: 

Photo credit: Atossa Soltani/Amazon Watch/Spectral Q