The New York Times recently reported on the latest of a series of mega-dam projects to be proposed in Brazil. On the table are several new dams on the Madeira River. Greengrants has funded, through our partner in Brazil the Socio-Environmental Support Center (CASA), several grassroots groups working to make sure local people have a say in these projects, which threaten not only the environment, but also the livelihoods and homes of thousands of citizens. These groups include Instituto Madeira Vivo and Ariramba.
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Large dams are not new to Brazil. For decades, mega hydroelectric projects have been one of the mainstays of Brazilian energy development, especially in the Amazon region. Time and time again, these dams have been observed to cause environmental damages that outweigh their economic benefits. They have been the source of thousands of families’ forced evictions from their riverbank homes. At the same time, local people’s voices have been shut out of the decision-making process.
The latest proposed dam project is for the Madeira River in Rondonia, a frontier state that has experienced high levels of deforestation. The $11 billion project being proposed by the government will consist of several large-scale dams on this river, thought to be home to the world’s most diverse fish stocks. Many people will be flooded off of their lands. Despite the fact that the government environmental agency recently refused to license the dam projects, they are far from dead.
To read an overview of the tensions surrounding the project in The New York Times, click here.
Greengrants’ partner in Brazil, CASA, has been active in the debate over these dams for years, working with grassroots groups that are in opposition to the project. Recent grantees include Instituto Madeira Vivo (Institute for an Alive Madeira), which has received several grants to build capacity among indigenous communities threatened by regional infrastructure projects. They also conducted several studies in the areas to be affected by the dams and are delineating the project’s environmental, social, and financial impacts.
ARIRAMBA has also received several grants to support this grassroots group’s work to protect the Madeira River. One of the grants was to hold a Riparian Community Art and Culture Festival, which allowed people from different cultures and social classes to interact and increase their cultural and ecological awareness. The festival also featured discussions of dam project on the Madeira River and offered a key public forum to encourage discussion among those who will be most affected by the dams.
The International Rivers Network, one of Greengrants’ global advisors, has also been active in protecting the Madeira River. Along with working with grassroots groups in the region (including several grantees), IRN recently published a critique of the environmental impact assessments of the Madeira project carried out by the Brazilian government. Click here to read more. They note that 33 endangered species reside in the area that will be affected by the dams.
As the debate over these dams continues, we will keep you updated. If the Brazilian environmental agency’s decision not to approve the licenses for the dams holds, it could be a landmark decision in favor of the protection of Brazil’s valuable river ecosystems—and the lives of those who depend on them.