belo monte dam

Shrestha 1

Digya Shrestha

Prof. Shahirah Majumdar

The Writer as Activists

26 December 2011

Where Our Future Lies

Today, almost 7 billion of people share this beautiful biosphere that we call planet earth.

With the increasing pace of development and industrialization in the world, people have become

much advanced in science and technologies. In addition to the development, human being are

also using up natural resources more rapidly, ignoring its negative impacts on the environment

and the our future generations. In such situation, we need to be more careful to protect our

natural resources, which if once gone, we can never get back. Natural resources, such as

rainforests and rivers, are very crucial to maintain the fragile balance of our planet.

The Amazon rainforest, widely known as ―the lungs of our planet,‖ is the largest

rainforest covering almost 60% of remaining rainforest in our living, breathing planeti. Even if

we realize it or not, but each of us in 7 billion people somehow depends upon the Amazon to

regulate our earth’s environment, absorbing carbon-dioxide and producing oxygen in a large

scale. Moreover, one-fifth of the world’s oxygen and fresh water is produced in the Amazon

Rainforest itselfii. Many scientists believe that the bio-diversity in the Amazon with its

interconnected structure of plants, animals, birds, incest, fishes, and some yet to be discovered is

probably an essential key to cure illnesses such as cancer and HIV AIDSiii

. Mainly, the

indigenous people who have been living in the rainforest since centuries with an amazing

harmony with the nature are the most crucial part of the Amazon.

Shrestha 2

The Amazon Rainforest lies in the northern side of South America, and it is shared by

eight different countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, and

French Guianaiv

. 60% of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil, covering almost half of the

countryv. Within the rainforest, the world’s largest, deepest and widest river, the Amazon River,

flows from the Andes Mountains in Peru to the Atlantic Coast of Brazil, approximately 4,080

miles in lengthvi

. Additionally, 1,100 different tributaries, seventeen of which are over 1,000

miles long, flows in the Amazon Rivervii

. The river is one mile wide at some point and is thirty-

five miles wide at some pointviii

. With the massive amount of fresh water, it not unusual that the

life beneath and around the water is absolutely abundant and diverseix

. The rainforest is a

biologically diversified bastion of nature where scientists believe is the home of almost half of

the world’s spices. According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), 40,000 plant species, 3,000

freshwater fish species, 500 mammals, more than 370 reptiles, and one third of the world’s birds

are found in Amazoniax. The rainforest plays a huge role in maintaining the ecosystem of our

earth, as ―90-140 billion metric tons‖ of carbon is absorbed by the forest which helps to stabilize

the local and global climatexi

.

In addition to the plants and animals, the Amazon is a home to many tribal and

indigenous people. These Indigenous people, who have been living in the Amazon since

millenniums, hugely depend upon the jungle and the water resources. It is estimated that fifty

years ago more than 40 million indigenous people lived in Amazon; however, the number has

decreased by half at presentxii

. Even now, ―the Brazilian Amazon alone is home to 20 million

people including 400 different indigenous groups,‖ and the future of these indigenous people

depends upon the future of the Amazonxiii

‖. The Xingu River, one of the main tributaries of the

Amazon River, alone sustains the livelihood of 25,000 indigenous people form 18 distinct ethnic

Shrestha 3

groups including the Juruna, Xikrín, Arara, Xipaia, Kuruaya, Parakanã, Araweté, and Kayapóxiv

.

The Xingu River contains ―the largest contiguous mosaic of protected areas in Brazil,‖ including

indigenous lands and conservation areasxv

.

Yet this ―life giving, climate stabilizing, biological treasure‖ is facing a threat by the

increasing industrial civilization in the Amazonxvi

. Despite having known about its immense

significance to its indigenous people and the world, the Brazilian Government is building what is

expected to be the third largest hydro-electricity dam, Belo Monte, in the state of Paraxvii

. The

energy produced from the 11,233 Megawatts dam helps in reducing the energy crisis in

Brazilxviii

. Moreover, building of this dam is supposed to offer 16, 000 temporary and 2,000

permanent jobs along with providing better supply of water in the areaxix

. The Brazilian

Government says that Brazil, the eighth largest economy in the world, certainly needs the huge

amount of energy for its further development. Its energy consumption is almost double than the

combined energy of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Uruguayxx

. The electricity production in

Brazil highly depends upon its hydro-electricity generating dams, which meets almost 80% of

the electricity demand of the countryxxi

. That is why the government is planning to build several

dams on the Amazon. The 17 Billion Belo Monte Dam is one of the 60 dams that the Brazilian

Government is planning to build in the next 20 yearsxxii

. Advocates of Belo Monte project say

that this project is very crucial to alleviate the energy crisis that started since 2001 in the

countryxxiii

.

Now, you might think that without energy what people will do. How will Brazil alleviate

its widening blackouts? If there is no electricity, the country cannot run its industries, and the

government has to cut off many projects for further industrialization, which is almost impossible

Shrestha 4

without the electricity. But what is the use of that energy which is being produced by sacrificing

thousands of people’s lives. What is the use of that development if the people whose house and

lifestyles are being sacrificed in it, they will not be able to develop themselves in their new

world? Does anyone realize on what cost this Dam is going to be built?

Well, the monetary cost of this dam was expected to be 10 billion dollar at first, but the

in reality it will cost almost 20 billion dollars, including its social and environmental impacts in

the people. And what about the social and environmental cost? No one still knows the true cost

of Belo Monte Dam. However, it is clear that it will be one of the most destructive infrastructure

projects ever built in Brazil resulting in the loss of thousands of indigenous tribes and millions of

species of the plants and animals. These indigenous people have to face the harsh truths that the

place where they have been living for centuries is going to be under water after the construction.

The river which is the basics to their survival is going to be the cause of the end to their survival.

One of the undeniable truths is that the dam is being built at the dramatic turn of the

Xingu River called the Big Bend, diverting almost 80% of the flow of the riverxxiv

. It results in

devastating an extensive area of the Amazon, displacing over 20,000 people and threatening the

survival of indigenous peoplexxv

. There are many undeniable truths about the Belo Monte Dam,

which the Brazilian Government is completely ignoring.

Let us at first see, what the Belo Monte Dam actually is and how is it going to be built?

Belo Monte Dam is a complex project which actually is a combined three-dam project: a

233 Megawatt dam called Pimentel, a complementary dam called Belo Vista and the main

11,000 dam called Belo Montexxvi

. In order to divert the flow of such a massively flowing river,

Shrestha 5

two artificial canals and two reservoirs would be carved out through the middle of the

rainforestxxvii

. Once build, the vastness of this dam would literally flood an area of 640 sq

kilometers of which 400 sq. kilometers is the standing forest itself, and almost devastates an area

more than 1,500 square kilometersxxviii

. It would, moreover, result in ―the forced displacement of

20,000 – 40,000 people, and grave impacts to the land and livelihood of 800 indigenous people

and thousands of riverine and urban families‖xxix

It means that the people will be forcibly

displaced in the nearby town and cities called Altamira and Vitoria do Xinguxxx

.

On the other side of this dam, the local population living in the low stream of the river

would be left out without access to water. Particularly, the Juruna and the Arara tribes who have

been living in the banks of the river since centuries, using it as their major source for drinking,

fishing and transportation, will have great impacts on their ways of livingxxxi

. The drying of the

Big Bend will have great impacts on the lives of those indigenous people, who call the river their

―life blood‖. Without the river, it would be almost impossible for the indigenous people to sell

their products and fishes in the citiesxxxii

. Similarly, the inflow and outflow of water will also

destroy the agricultural lands of the region, affecting the farmers and leaving them more

vulnerable to starvation.

Isn’t it surprising that for us that industrialization is taking over people and nature? Areas

in the upstream will be flooded and the people living in those places will be forcibly displaced

into the cities and towns nearby. On the other hand, people in the lower stream will see their

river drying. Hence, they will also be compelled to migrate in the nearby cities. In the cities,

they will have to compete with the local people, thousands of other indigenous and non-

indigenous migrants for jobs. They will not have place to live in and, hence will end up in slums

where they will be more vulnerable to different transmitted diseases. The temporary job

Shrestha 6

opportunities created for the people on the dam side is not ―a viable replacement for the lost

agricultural lands and the river's fish supply‖xxxiii

because it is only for the short-term. Their

homelands on the river banks, which they were born with, will no longer be there, as the whole

area will be either under water or with no water. Lucimar da Silva, a local farmer in the river

bank says, ―If a farmer had to move to the city, he would feel oppressed. We do not want to

move to the cities. We want to stay in our lands in peace.‖xxxiv

In addition, according to Philip Fearnside, a research professor on ecology at the National

Amazon Research Institute (INPA) said that ―Belo Monte is unlikely to be a standalone project

due to its low generating capacity in the dry season‖xxxv

. Belo Monte is going to produce only

10% of capacity during 3-5 months of dry seasons. The 10% energy will be an average of only

4,462 Megawatts or 39% of its nominal capacity, annuallyxxxvi

. As a result, the government has

to build more dams on the upper streams to maintain the flow of the river, which would lead to

further destructions. Moreover, the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) is going to

fund amolst 80% amount for the Dam project, which the largest amount of loan since the history

of the bank. Because through the energy produced form this project is not going to be as efficient

as it is meant to be, the government will not be able to pay the loans of the bank from its income.

Hence, as a result, the remaining interest of the money will be taken from the citizens as taxes,

while at the same time government will invest less in the public goods, which will lead to further

instability in the country.

In spite of all these possible worst consequences, the government has issued a license

to build the dam emphasizing more on the development than its harm to the indigenous

people and the environment. President Lula in his speech about the Belo Monte Dam at

Altamira declared the young indigenous protestors as ―kids‖ and suggested the people not to

Shrestha 7

believe in such ―constructed fantasies‖xxxvii

. He ignored the fact that the construction of this

dam would end the survival of thousands of people. However, the indigenous people and the

environmentalists inside and outside the country have been protesting against the dam project

for last two decades. Despite all their efforts, on July 1st, 2011, the Brazilian Environmental

Agency (IBAMA) has granted a full license to start the construction on the riverxxxviii

.

But the indigenous people are still protesting against the dam with an aim of protecting

their homelands, traditions, and their lives. Furthermore, Brazilian citizens including many

international celebrities, environmentalists, Amazon Watch and many other international people

all over the world are supporting the indigenous people in stopping this monstrous Belo Monte

Dam project. As Zé Carlos Arara, a leader of the Arara people says:

For us the river means many things. For everything we do, we depend on the river. For us

to go out, to take our parents around, to get medical attention, we need the river for all

these things. If a dam is constructed on the river, how will we pass through it? ... We

don't want to see the river closed off, our parents dying in inactivity. For us the river is

useful and we don't want it to wither away – that we not have a story to tell, that it

become a legend for our children and grandchildren. We want them to see it with their

own eyesxxxix

.

Moreover, in his meeting with President Lula in July, 2011 to convey the concerns of the

indigenous people, he told the President, ―Our ancestors are there inside this land, our blood is

inside the land, and we have to pass on this land with the story of our ancestors to our children.

We don’t want to fight, but we are ready to fight for our land if we are threatened. We want to

live on our land in peace with all that we have there.‖xl

Furthermore, the leader of Kayapo

Shrestha 8

people, Chief Raoni, in his speech at Altamira while protesting against the dam says, ―[the

building of this dam] will…affect our…Xingu River…[which] has to be alive, it has to be clean;

it does not need the construction of the Belo Monte dam. If the dam is built, it will cause

damage, jeopardize traditional medicine, and ruin the fish that we consume from the Xingu.‖xli

Another indigenous leader, Sheyla Juruna, speaking against the dam project says, ―The River is

our home, the basics of our survival…we feel threatened because this large project…will be

disgrace, causing serious damage and bringing sufferings to our communities.‖xlii

She further

blames the government for not being open to dialogue, and says that the indigenous people were

ready to fight with their bodies and their souls to protect their lives and the life of their river.xliii

Not only the indigenous people, 600,000 Brazilian people have signed and submitted a

petition requesting President Dilma Rousseff to stop the monstrous project which they believe

Brazil does not needxliv

. Moreover, James Cameron, the director of the movie Avatar, while

speaking in a conference in Manaus requested the Brazilian Government and President Lula to

reconsider the dam project and protect the indigenous people’s rights to their lands. In his video

on the AmazonWatch speaking for the indigenous people, whom he had met and had observed

their lifestyles, he says that the people who were protesting against the dam were young boys of

19-20 years of old; they were taking responsibilities to protect their traditions and cultures, their

future generations from being completely unknown about the tradition they had had. He further

says, ―For these people there, it is the end of their world and they are reacting according to it.

They are there with their bows and arrows saying that they will fight.‖xlv

This shows that what the Brazilian Government is doing is wrong and has to be stopped. I

am not saying that Brazil should not produce electricity at all. Brazil, being one of the richest

countries of the world, should of course utilize its water resources to develop themselves, but

Shrestha 9

only to the extent that it is safe for the future generations. The government does not have the

right to destroy the lives of those thousands of indigenous people who have made the forest their

homeland. By the energy crisis that occurred in 2001-2002 in Brazil, the government should

have understood that only depending upon the hydro-electricity for the nation’s energy is not a

knowledgeable thing to do. Brazil certainly has many other potentials, such as wind and solar, to

produce clean energy. A study done by WWF-Brazil published in 2007 showed that Brazil could

be able to decrease its 40% demand for electricity investing in energy efficiency by 2020xlvi

. By

this decrease in demand, the power that is saved will be equal to fourteen other Belo Monte

Dams and will save almost 19 billion by the year 2020xlvii

. By investing in true renewable

energies such as wind, solar, biomass and small hydro-power, Brazil can create 8 million new

jobs for the people, which is far more than the Belo Monte Dam can ever createxlviii

.

Today, where on the one side there is government who is covering its ears to the

protestors, on the other side the indigenous people are ready to sacrifice their lives to protect

their traditions and their homelands. Opponents of Belo Monte Dam from all over the world are

protesting for the cancelation of this project. The Brazilian Government is surely going to have

some short term profit through Belo Monte Dam, and may be the government can decrease the

energy crisis to some extent. However, the impacts of this short term profit can be extremely

dangerous in the long term.

The Amazon rainforest and its river are immensely important to sustain the lives of the

huge population of the world and innumerable species of plants and animals in the area. The

people in Amazon certainly deserve a future with a healthy environment without any threats to

their survival. The river is their ―life blood‖ and the forest is their home land. The Brazilian

Government has to understand that the bio-diversity in the Amazon is worth more than the short

Shrestha 10

term profit. For the sake of our future, our planet, our nature, for the air we breathe, and for the

water that gives life, the Belo Monte Dam must be stopped. The people, today, have to decide

where we want our planet’s future to be: the world where we live in harmony with the nature or

the world where we regret not valuing the magnificent natural resources we once had.

Shrestha 11

i ―Amazon Rainforest.‖ Blue Planet Biomes. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.

ii Ibid

iii ―Amazon Watch: Standing with Indigenous Peoples, Defending the Rainforest.‖ AMAZON

WATCH: Supporting Indigenous Peoples, Protecting the Amazon, 29 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Dec.

2011.

iv "WWF - For a Living Amazon!" WWF - WWF. Web. 25 Dec. 2011.

v Save the Amazon Rainforest: Amazon River - Rainforest Animals. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.

vi Ibid

vii Ibid

viii Ibid.

ix Ibid.

x ―WWF - Amazon - World’s Largest Tropical Rain Forest and River Basin.‖ Wildlife

Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. Web. 21 Dec. 2011.

xi Ibid.

xii ―People of the Amazon: Greenpeace International.‖ Greenpeace, 28 Apr. 2003. Web. 21 Dec.

2011.

xiii Ibid

xiv ―AMAZON WATCH: The Xingu River and Its People.‖ AMAZON WATCH: Supporting

Indigenous Peoples, Protecting the Amazon. Web. 22 Dec. 2011.

xv Weaver, Sigourney. ―Defending the Rivers of the Amazon, with Sigourney Weaver -

YouTube.‖ YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. AmazonWatch, 29 Aug. 2010. Web. 21 Dec. 2011.

xvi ―Amazon Watch: Standing with Indigenous Peoples, Defending the Rainforest.‖ AMAZON

WATCH: Supporting Indigenous Peoples, Protecting the Amazon, 29 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Dec.

2011.

Shrestha 12

xvii

Weaver, Sigourney. ―Defending the Rivers of the Amazon, with Sigourney Weaver -

YouTube.‖ YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. AmazonWatch, 29 Aug. 2010. Web. 21 Dec. 2011

xviii Ibid

xix Belo Monte | Everything about Belo Monte. Web. 22 Dec. 2011.

xx ―Electricity Sector in Brazil.‖ GlObserver, 2011. Web. 21

st Dec. 2011.

xxi Ibid

xxii Belo Monte | Everything about Belo Monte. Web. 22 Dec. 2011.

xxiii ―Electricity Sector in Brazil.‖ GlObserver, 2011. Web. 21

st Dec. 2011.

xxiv ―AMAZON WATCH: Stop the Belo Monte Monster Dam.‖ AMAZON WATCH: Supporting


xxv Ibid

xxvi Weaver, Sigourney. ―Defending the Rivers of the Amazon, with Sigourney Weaver -


xxvii Ibid

xxviii ―BankTrack.org - Dodgydeals - Belo Monte Dam Project.‖ BankTrack.org, 2008. Web. 25

Dec. 2011.

xxix Ibid

xxx ―AMAZON WATCH: Stop the Belo Monte Monster Dam.‖ AMAZON WATCH: Supporting


xxxi Weaver, Sigourney. ―Defending the Rivers of the Amazon, with Sigourney Weaver -


Shrestha 13

xxxii

Ibid

xxxiii ―AMAZON WATCH: Stop the Belo Monte Monster Dam.‖ AMAZON WATCH: Supporting


xxxiv Weaver, Sigourney. ―Defending the Rivers of the Amazon, with Sigourney Weaver -


xxxv ―BankTrack.org - Dodgydeals - Belo Monte Dam Project.‖ BankTrack.org, 2008. Web. 25

Dec. 2011.

xxxvi ―AMAZON WATCH: Stop the Belo Monte Monster Dam.‖ AMAZON WATCH: Supporting


xxxvii Silva, Luiz Inácio Lula da. ―Speech by Pres. Lula at a rally for the Belo Monte Dam.‖

International Rivers. Altamira—PA. 22nd

June 2010. Web. 23rd

Dec. 2011.

xxxviii ―Brazil Grants Building Permit for the Belo Monte Amazon Dam.‖ BBC News, 1

st June

2011. Web. 21st Dec. 2011.

xxxix ―AMAZON WATCH: The Xingu River and Its People.‖ AMAZON WATCH: Supporting


xl ―BankTrack.org - Dodgydeals - Belo Monte Dam Project.‖ BankTrack.org, 2008. Web. 25

Dec. 2011.

xli ―A Message from Chief Raoni, Renowned Leader of the Kayapo People.‖ YouTube -

Broadcast Yourself, 16 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Dec. 2011.

xlii Weaver, Sigourney. ―Defending the Rivers of the Amazon, with Sigourney Weaver -


Shrestha 14

xliii

―AMAZON WATCH: The Xingu River and Its People.‖ AMAZON WATCH: Supporting


xliv ―600,000 say no to Belo Monte Dam.‖ Youtube – Broadcast Yourself, 10

th Feb. 2011. Web.

23rd

Dec. 2011.

xlv "AMAZON WATCH: A Message from Pandora." AMAZON WATCH: Supporting Indigenous

Peoples, Protecting the Amazon. 17 Aug. 2010. Web. 24 Dec. 2011.

xlvi ―BankTrack.org - Dodgydeals - Belo Monte Dam Project.‖ BankTrack.org, 2008. Web. 25

Dec. 2011.

xlvii Ibid

xlviii Ibid

belo monte dam

Documents