ENVIRONMENT:
Indians Close Ranks
Against Dams in the
Amazon
By Bernarda Claure*
LA PAZ (Tierramérica) -
Indigenous communities
in Bolivia and Brazil
have declared an
emergency in response to
the construction of the
Madera River
Hydroelectric Complex,
which Brasilia is
pursuing even as
independent research
efforts try to measure
the impacts of what will
be one of South
America's largest energy
projects.
The government of Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva
this year has proposed
construction of the
Jirau and San Antonio
dams, the first part of
the complex in Brazilian
territory. But Bolivian
residents of the
northern Amazon fear it
will unleash
environmental harm and
devastate their lands.
The organisations
representing them met
Jun. 29 in the northern
city of Riberalta and
declared an emergency. A
declaration by seven
labour groups and the
Movement of People
Affected by Dams of the
western Brazilian state
of Rondonia, seen by
Tierramérica, called on
the Bolivian government
"not to negotiate or
sign any type of
agreement" with Brazil.
The Madera, the Spanish
name of the river where
it begins in Bolivia, or
the Madeira, its
Portuguese name in
Brazil, originates in
the Andes Mountains,
formed by the Beni and
Madre de Dios rivers,
and ultimately flows
into the Amazon River.
The Madera crosses a
biodiverse region, with
a binational path of
rapids and "cachuelas",
or low cascades. This
geography is not
suitable for river
navigation, but has
hydroelectric potential.
Researchers at the
Institute of Hydrology
and Hydraulics of the
Universidad Mayor de San
Andrés (UMSA) and of the
Research for Development
Institute, along with
experts supported by the
non-governmental
Bolivian Forum for
Environment and
Development (Fobomade)
are trying to determine
the risks Bolivia faces
in the construction of
the dams.
Although the dam is to
be built in Brazilian
territory, there will be
impacts in Bolivia as
well, UMSA researcher
Jorge Molina told
Tierramérica.
The preliminary results
of the study indicate
that there would be
blockage of rivers and
tributaries, with
subsequent flooding,
severe losses of aquatic
diversity and of
farmable land, as well
as displacement of
indigenous communities.
The central project of
the hydroelectric
complex is located near
the Brazilian city of
Porto Velho, in Rondonia,
near the border. The
original plan consisted
of a 4,200-kilometre
waterway and four
hydroelectric dams with
locks for navigation,
two in Brazil (San
Antonio and Jirau), the
third in binational
waters, and the fourth
in Bolivia, in the
Amazonian region of
Cachuela Esperanza.
But Brasilia ruled out
the last two, as long as
no agreement is reached
with La Paz.
If it is finalised, the
project could generate
up to 17,000 megawatts,
mostly destined for
industries in southern
Brazil, according to a
Tierramérica interview
with Brazilian
environmental engineer
David Melendres, who is
researching the issue in
northern Bolivia.
The environmental costs
could outweigh the
benefits, he said.
The Riberalta
pronouncement by the
coalition demands the
presence of Bolivia's
President Evo Morales at
the Union of Campesinos
(peasant farmers) of the
city of Guayaramerín,
near the border, to meet
with Indians, farmers
and trade unionists.
"They don't listen to us
when we warn about the
increase in disease,
displacement of entire
towns, and flooding of
tributaries," said Rabi
Ortiz, president of the
Bolivian Indigenous
Union of the Amazon
Region.
The Morales government
has repeated that it
does not intend to take
action without
consulting the native
communities.
In early June, energy
minister Carlos Villegas
said Bolivia will insist
on an agreement with
Brazil based on "a
binational analysis of
the economic, social and
environmental effects"
of the hydroelectric
project.
But construction of the
San Antonio dam was
already granted in
bidding to the
consortium led by the
government-owned company
Furnas de Brasil and the
construction giant
Odebrecht. The Jirau dam
has been receiving
proposals since May.
The complex will cost
more than 9 billion
dollars and would be the
second largest in
Brazil, after Itaipú,
which is located on the
Paraná River, shared
with Paraguay.
In April 2004, Odebrecht
requested two
provisional licenses
from Bolivia's
Electrical
Superintendence to
conduct feasibility
studies for
hydroelectric dams on
the Mamoré, Madera and
Beni rivers. The request
was denied.
However, although
Bolivia has so far
upheld that decision,
"its official position
is not clear," Fobomade
vice-president Elizabeth
Mamani told Tierramérica.
The Bolivian government
lacks official studies
of the project, admitted
Iván Castellón, general
superintendent of the
Renewable Resources
Regulation System.
Meanwhile, Brazil has
shown its determination
by starting construction
this year. The river
communities were
notified that they have
until Aug. 30 to
relocate, according to a
government communiqué to
which Tierramérica had
access.
The greatest concern of
the Indians is that at
least 3,000 people will
be displaced in Brazil.
And in Bolivia, a
Fobomade study indicates
that about 300 entire
communities will be
forced to move.
The Forum published an
environmental impact
study of the dams that
warns about an increase
in diseases -- yellow
fever, malaria, dengue
and others -- related to
the lack of sanitation
and urbanisation for the
displaced.
"It will be necessary to
multiply the health
teams in Brazil. The
situation will be
complicated in Bolivia
by the fact that the
government simply
doesn't reach the
northern Amazonian
areas," said Mamani, an
environmental lawyer.
Bolivia is one of the
few countries that still
has unknown and
uncontacted peoples,
"who are now in danger,"
added the Fobomade
vice-president. The
little-known Pacahuara
would be affected --
they move between the
Río Negro in the eastern
department of Santa Cruz
and the Pacahuara, in
the northern Pando.
According to Melendres'
research, "These groups
would have to emigrate
to other regions in
search of food and
inhabitable space,
leading to the invasion
of territories of other
indigenous populations."
This information is
sufficient to halt the
project, based on the
principle of caution,
says Mamani.
But because "Brazil
lives with the fear of
the blackouts it
suffered in 2001 due to
an energy crisis," it is
unlikely that it will
stop the project,
Patricio Sorbera de los
Ríos, a former professor
at Brazil's Federal
University of Acre, told
Tierramérica.
"It is known that
construction like this
creates diverse types of
impacts. We can hope
that they are not as
great as those predicted
by the
environmentalists," he
added.
(*Originally published
by Latin American
newspapers that are part
of the Tierramérica
network. Tierramérica is
a specialised news
service produced by IPS
with the backing of the
United Nations
Development Programme,
United Nations
Environment Programme
and the World Bank.)
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