In building the world’s third-largest dam, Brazil aims to build good social practices

Nina Wegner – Christian Science Monitor, 07/20/2013

Brazil is busy polishing its image in anticipation of hosting the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, spending billions on budgets for border control, crime eradication, and public projects.

But while the construction of soccer stadiums and the war on crime grab headlines, Brazil’s largest and most expensive infrastructure project is hidden deep in the Amazon on the “Big Bend” of the Xingu River. There, the Belo Monte dam – the third largest dam in the world – is rapidly being built. And how the dam is completed could play an important role in shaping the future of one of the world’s last frontiers – the Amazon Rainforest.

“The effects of this dam will be better than any other dam in Brazil,” says Vilmar Soares, a co-founder of FORT Xingu, an organization that supports development in the Xingu Region. “This is the first hydroelectric dam in Brazil that implements a plan of regional development for when the dam is completed.”

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Dam Engineers Released by Brazil Tribal Leaders

Paulo Winterstein – Reuters,  7/27/2012

SAO PAULO—Indigenous leaders in Brazil released on Friday the last of the three engineers working on the controversial $13 billion Belo Monte dam in Brazil’s north, Brazil’s national indigenous institute Funai said.

The engineers working for Norte Energia, a consortium of Brazilian companies and pension funds, had been held hostage since Tuesday in a village close to where the 11,233-megawatt dam is being built on the Xingu River. One employee was released Thursday night, and the other two were released Friday morning and were on their way to the nearby city of Altamira, a spokesman for Funai said.

Norte Energia confirmed the release of all three workers, one of whom works directly for Norte Energia and two working for companies contracted by Norte Energia to provide services.

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Brazilian Indians hold three Amazon dam engineers hostage after talks break down

The Independent/The Associated Press, 07/25/2012

Indians are holding three engineers at one of the work sites of the massive Belo Monte dam in Brazil’s Amazon jungle following the breakdown of talks on the project’s environmental impact.

An official of the Norte Energia consortium that is building the dam says the engineers are being held against their will. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the press. She did not provide further details.

According to a  statement by an activist group assisting the Indians living in region, the engineers will be released after the consortium addresses the environmental concerns of indigenous groups.

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Brazil: Turtle deaths might be connected to dam

Fox News/Associated Press, 07/03/2012

BRASILIA, Brazil –  Brazilian prosecutors have started an investigation into a consortium that is building a huge dam in the Amazon, saying there are suspicions the group mishandled a turtle hatchery and caused the deaths of thousands of baby turtles.

If the investigation finds there was neglect by the consortium during work on the Belo Monte dam, the Norte Energia consortium could be taken to court, prosecutor Bruno Alexandre Gutschow told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Once built, Belo Monte will be the third-largest dam in the world.

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In the Spotlight: Belo Monte Dam

Compiled by Lauren Phelps – Brazil Institute, 06/26/2012

The construction of Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam, officially given the green light a little over a year ago, is certainly one of the most controversial topics trending in national news. The dam, which is being constructed on the Xingu River in the state of Pará, has received renewed attention most recently during a spate of protests during last week’s Rio +20 conference in Rio de Janeiro. The protestors occupied the construction site and opened a channel in the earthen dam. They hoped to harness the attention of world leaders assembled in Rio to discuss sustainable development goals, with energy development key among these.

Protests and strikes have been ongoing since the approximately $US 18 billion project was announced, with the pros and cons being widely disputed. On the one hand, the dam is projected to create up to 40,000 jobs and could generate up to 11,233 MW of energy, alleviating the burden on the Itaipu Dam while supplying the energy demanded by Brazil’s burgeoning industrial sectors and residential areas.

Despite these projected benefits, however, the dam is also expected to flood the surrounding forested areas, displacing up to 20,000 people. The project mandates that Norte Energia, the company building the dam, devote at least $US 800 million to protecting the environment; however for the families at risk and environmental activists, this fee does not make up for the potential damage. Though the Brazilian government has released a document elucidating the benefits of the dam and assuring that these indigenous communities will not be severely impacted, many are still worried. Several indigenous communities in the surrounding areas are not only threatened with displacement, but maintain that the Xingu River is vital to their community’s traditions and everyday life. The dam is also expected to lead to the extinction of several fish species and harm current fish stocks, affecting the local fishing industry.

Protestors strike again at Brazil’s ‘Pandora’ dam in Amazon

Kenneth Rapoza – Forbes, 01/19/2012

On June 1, Brazil's Environmental Regulatory Agency, Ibama, greenlights world's third largest hydroelectric dam in the middle of the Amazon. Forbes

Brazil’s massive Belo Monte hydroelectric power project is arguably the most hated government project in the world. Although opposition to the dam remains more international than local, a group of fisherman and tribal members of the Xingu River Lives Movement rowed up and down the river on Wednesday to block construction workers from initial phase construction of the mega-dam.

The protestors arrived at the dam site by boat, unfurling banners in front of temporary, dirt dams known as coffer dams with slogans like “Belo Monte: crime of the Federal Government”, people involved in the protests said.  They blocked the movement of workers and machinery, disrupting construction of the 11,200 megawatt dam for over two hours.  No arrests or violence were reported.

“Despite the criminal operations that are Belo Monte, where the Brazilian government is spending billions to devastate the Xingu while creating a situation of complete chaos among local communities, we will continue to resist this monstrosity and work to call attention of the Brazilian public and the world that this wanton destruction of the Amazon will hurt us all,” said Antônia Melo, coordinator of the Xingu Vivo movement. “To take away the river is to take away the life of its people, because water is life.”

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