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Protesto Munduruku contra hidrelétricas
Tapajós Basin
The Tapajós Basin is a jewel of the Amazon, home to an incredible array of plant and animal biodiversity. A mosaic of protected areas and indigenous lands, the basin is home to approximately 820,000 people, including 10 indigenous groups. The Tapajós and its major tributaries – the Teles Pires, Jamanxim and Juruena rivers – are threatened by an unprecedented series of massive dams and associated industrial waterways (hidrovias) that would flood national parks, indigenous lands and other protected areas, accelerating the destruction of the Amazon Basin.
Brazil hopes to build 3 major dams on the mainstream of the Tapajós River, and a series of additional large and medium-sized dams on its tributaries. This would include four large dams on the Jamanxim River in the state of Pará and five large dams on the Teles Pires River along the border of Mato Grosso and Pará – two of which are already under construction. No serious analysis of the individual and combined impacts of this cascade of dams has been carried out, especially with regard to environmental flows, biodiversity and livelihoods of indigenous peoples. All of these dams would be part of a larger complex of water infrastructure projects in the region, including industrial waterways for transporting agribusiness and mining commodities out of the Amazon rainforest. Much of the electricity from these dams would be used for the expansion of electro-intensive aluminum and iron ore smelters in the region.
In an attempt to greenwash the projects, the Brazilian government is claiming that the seven big hydroelectric projects on the Tapajós and Jamanxim rivers would be built as platform dams – based on the concept of offshore oil platforms – and would therefore have little impact on the environment. These dams together would flood 930 square kilometers of conservation units and national parks. The Chacorão Dam would also flood 187 sq kms of the Mundurucu Indigenous Lands. As this is illegal under Brazilian law, President Dilma is trying to push through measures to unilaterally reduce the boundaries of the protected areas and indigenous lands.
A growing movement of riverbank dwellers and indigenous communities is mobilizing to protest and mount legal challenges and protests against the planned dams and industrial waterways in the Tapajos basin, with support from partners that include public prosecutors, MAB, the progressive Catholic Church, environmental NGOs and International Rivers. We are working to support the movement and propose better options for meeting Brazil’s energy needs.
Brazil hopes to build 3 major dams on the mainstream of the Tapajós River, and a series of additional large and medium-sized dams on its tributaries. This would include four large dams on the Jamanxim River in the state of Pará and five large dams on the Teles Pires River along the border of Mato Grosso and Pará – two of which are already under construction. No serious analysis of the individual and combined impacts of this cascade of dams has been carried out, especially with regard to environmental flows, biodiversity and livelihoods of indigenous peoples. All of these dams would be part of a larger complex of water infrastructure projects in the region, including industrial waterways for transporting agribusiness and mining commodities out of the Amazon rainforest. Much of the electricity from these dams would be used for the expansion of electro-intensive aluminum and iron ore smelters in the region.
In an attempt to greenwash the projects, the Brazilian government is claiming that the seven big hydroelectric projects on the Tapajós and Jamanxim rivers would be built as platform dams – based on the concept of offshore oil platforms – and would therefore have little impact on the environment. These dams together would flood 930 square kilometers of conservation units and national parks. The Chacorão Dam would also flood 187 sq kms of the Mundurucu Indigenous Lands. As this is illegal under Brazilian law, President Dilma is trying to push through measures to unilaterally reduce the boundaries of the protected areas and indigenous lands.
A growing movement of riverbank dwellers and indigenous communities is mobilizing to protest and mount legal challenges and protests against the planned dams and industrial waterways in the Tapajos basin, with support from partners that include public prosecutors, MAB, the progressive Catholic Church, environmental NGOs and International Rivers. We are working to support the movement and propose better options for meeting Brazil’s energy needs.
More information:
- Visit Dams in Amazônia for a map of existing and planned dams in the Amazon
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Tapajós Basin Dams
Proposed dams on the Tapajós River
Three large hydroelectric dams are proposed for the mainstem of the Tapajós River in the state of Pará – São Luiz do Tapajós, Jatobá and Chacorão. Together they would flood a total of 198,400 hectares (ha), including 11,000 ha of the Amazonia and Juruena National Parks and over 23,000 ha of the Itaituba I and II National Forests. These dams would also have significant impacts on several indigenous lands and communities, including the Mundurucu, Apiaká de Pimental, Akaybãe, Remédio, Sai Cinza, São Martinho and Boca do Igarapé Pacu.Proposed dams on the Jamanxim River
Four hydroelectric dams are proposed for the Jamanxim River – Cachoeira do Caí, Jamanxim, Cachoeira dos Patos and Jardim do Ouro. These dams would flood a total of 103,700 ha, including 33,216 ha of the Jamanxim National Park and 25,849 ha of the Jamanxim, Itaituba I & II and Altamira National Forests.Proposed dams on the Teles Pires River
Five hydroelectric dams are proposed for the Teles Pires River - São Manoel, Foz do Apiacás, Teles Pires, Colider and Sinop in the state of Mato Grosso, flooding a total area of 95,000 ha. The São Manoel, Foz do Apiacás and Teles Pires dams would all be located in close proximity to the Apiacás indigenous territory.Platform dams
The Brazilian government is claiming that the projects on the Tapajós and Jamanxim rivers will adopt a new model, known as "platform dams." Supposedly based on the concept of offshore oil platforms, the government claims that in order to avoid the deforestation and population explosion that normally occurs when building hydroelectric dams in the Amazon, the projects will be constructed without roads, workers will be helicoptered in and out of the sites, and the construction areas will be regenerated after the dam is completed. The comparison to offshore oil platforms is surprising, given the inherent differences between the two types of projects - an oil rig uses at most about 175 workers, versus around 12,000 people for the construction of just one of the massive projects planned for the Tapajós Basin.Little more is known about the government's concept for platform dams, since details about exactly how the model would actually work have not been provided. NGOs, social movements and concerned academics in Brazil are skeptical, believing that platform dams are likely to be more of an exercise in greenwashing than a serious proposal. The idea that a dam could be built without a road into the area seems highly unfeasible, given the heavy machinery, equipment, concrete and other construction materials needed to build the dam. Furthermore, the idea that thousands of people could be moved into a protected area to build a dam without impacts to the surrounding forest and local communities also seems unrealistic. Even if this were the case, the dams themselves would still have serious impacts to aquatic and terrestrial ecology through flooding protected areas, blocking fish migration, and changing the river's ecology. Such impacts - and the implications for local populations that depend on the riverine ecosystems for the their livelihoods - have not yet been subject to an open and qualified debate. In short, more detailed studies and debates are urgently needed to examine the Brazilian government's proposal and the degree to which it meets criteria of sustainability and the public interest.
- Download a high-resolution version of this map (courtesy of archive.org)
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Threat to Amazonian Rivers: Dams and Industrial Waterways on the Tapajós
The Tapajós is a region of breathtaking beauty, amazing biodiversity and a diversified population of indigenous peoples, riverbank communities, fisherfolk, small farmers, artisanal miners, and a variety of other social groups. Yet the Tapajós and its principal tributaries – the Teles Pires, Jamanxim and Juruena rivers – are currently threatened by an unprecedented series of dams and industrial waterways (hidrovias) that would cause immense social and environmental damage to the Amazon.The ambitious plans of President Dilma Rousseff's administration for dam construction in the next five to 10 years include 3 major dams on the mainstream of the Tapajós River and a series of additional large and medium-sized dams on its tributaries. This would include four large dams on the Jamanxim River in the state of Pará and five large dams on the Teles Pires River along the border of Mato Grosso and Pará – two of which are already under construction. Moreover, as many as 17 large dams and 63 smaller dams may be constructed on the Juruena River.
The dams are part of a larger mega-project called the Tapajós Complex, which would develop the basin into one giant industrial waterway to increase the profits of agribusinesses such as the Maggi Group and JBS who want to ship soy, corn and other agricultural goods to market. Much of the electricity from the proposed dams would power huge mining companies, such as Vale, Gerdau and Alcoa, which own shares of massive mineral reserves in the area.
No serious analysis of the individual and combined impacts of this cascade of dams has been carried out, especially with regard to the livelihoods of indigenous peoples and other traditional populations, environmental flows, and biodiversity. The reckless process of dam planning and licensing on the Tapajós is highlighted by two recent events:
- President Dilma’s signing of a provisional law in January 2012, illegally eliminating over 75,000 hectares from national parks, and other protected areas hectares in five conservation units to make way for the reservoirs of two large proposed dams on the Tapajós river: São Luiz do Tapajós and Jatobá;
- Plans of the Rousseff administration to build the huge Chacorão Dam on the Tapajós River, that would floods 18,721 hectares of the indigenous territory of the Mundurucu people, who recently described the project as a “criminal act” that demonstrates an “absolute lack of concern of the federal government with the rights of the indigenous people of Brazil.”
An inspiring example is this week’s decision by a federal judge to suspend the construction license of the Teles Pires hydroelectric dam, citing violations of the rights of the Kayabi, Apiaká and Mundurucu indigenous peoples, based on a lawsuit filed by state and federal public prosecutors.
Visit our new campaign page on the Tapajós Basin, where you will find the latest news, press releases, project updates, technical reports, testimonies and declarations from civil society and affected peoples, and other supporting material.
Stay tuned as we roll out more information about critical events in the Tapajós Basin, a jewel in the heart of the Amazon.
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