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.”
The Xingu River is an Amazon tributary located in the state of Para, one of two large Amazon jungle states in northern Brazil. The Belo Monte dam has been in the works for decades in Brazil and was only approved in 2010. Construction began on the project in late 2011. The dam is expected to be completed by 2015.
Most of Brazil’s electricity is derived from clean hydroelectric power stations that do not burn fossil fuels to produce power. However, to build such a dam requires substantial disruption of the immediate environment. In the case of Belo Monte, it includes knocking down and inundating with water around 516 square kilometers of virgin rainforest. Part of the Xingu River tributaries will be diverted, causing some river dwelling tribes to complain that certain fish species will not survive, especially if the river dries up during the dry season.
Brazil’s government attests that native groups, under the umbrella of Funai, the main Indian political representative in the country, all agreed to Belo Monte. But that has not been enough for a number of groups in Brazil, led primarily by Xingu Vivo and their international colleagues at International Rivers and Amazon Watch.
The dam is run by Norte Energia, a consortium of government energy companies and private sector firms like Brazilian mining major Vale (VALE), with its 9.1% stake in Belo Monte. Norte Energia was unavailable for immediate comment on Thursday.
California based International Rivers said in a press release that, “The building of coffer dams, traversing one of the main channels of the Xingu, is already a major intervention in the riverine ecosystem” according to Brent Millikan of International Rivers “Besides destroying habitats and interfering in the river’s hydrology, coffer dams create obstacles for local boat transportation and the movements of fish.”
The dams are temporary constructions to allow for engineers to set up shop to begin the heavier lifting in the months ahead. However, untold volumes of dirt and gravel have been seeping into the Xingu, causing at least one tribe, the Arara tribe, to lodge a complaint with the state’s public attorneys general office this week.
Belo Monte has caused quite a stir. James Cameron, Hollywood director, created a short documentary in August 2010 called Letter from Pandora. In it, he tries to equate the battle against Belo Monte with the pro-nature battle depicted in his blockbuster Avatar.
