Brazil's current economic and political shifts and its effort to attract Chinese investment are part of a concerted effort by the Brazilian government to industrialize vast sections of the Amazon, with grave ramifications for the forests, rivers, and peoples who help sustain this irreplaceable biome for the benefit of humanity.
Today is International Day of Action for Rivers, and what better way to commemorate it than watching the award-winning documentary film, Belo Monte: After the Flood!
In a colorful and highly energized samba parade at Rio de Janeiro's world-famous Carnival on Monday morning, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, one of Brazil's most traditional and respected samba schools, paid a special tribute to indigenous peoples of the Amazon's Xingu River, highlighting threats to their territories, livelihoods and rights.
Imperatriz Leopoldinense probably had no idea where it would lead them when they chose to speak out about the Xingu, but they chose the right path. Because today, to defend the Brazilian Indian is to defend the future of our country.
"The new study confirms that reservoirs are major emitters of methane, a particularly aggressive greenhouse gas," said Kate Horner, Executive Director of International Rivers, adding that hydropower dams "can no longer be considered a clean and green source of electricity."
Make no mistake about it, indigenous rights and territories are under attack in Brazil. We recently reported on attempts by the administration of President Michel Temer to roll back indigenous rights and environmental protections, moves that fundamentally undermine land demarcation norms while portending dire consequences for the Amazon and its...
At Belo Monte, the writing is on the wall because, all over the Amazon, new dams are planned or being built. A key role in the protection of the forests, rivers and animals will now be played by the indigenous person.
With the issuance of a federal decree in mid-January, Brazil's government announced major changes to the procedure by which it formally demarcates indigenous lands – a move applauded by the ruralistas industrial agriculture lobby and large landowners, but greeted with alarm by indigenous land rights activists.
Brazil's government wants to build dams in Amazonia with "big reservoirs." That is quite a point of departure compared to the run-of-river dams that have dominated the country's planning and construction activity over the last two decades.
Carlos Fávaro's dream of turning the Tapajós River into "Brazil's Mississippi" is now within the grasp of Brazil's agribusinessmen – with only indigenous people, traditional riverine communities, environmentalists and the ever-increasing concern of climate scientists about the damage that will be done to the forest, and thus indirectly...
Brazil's conservative National Congress has rushed to pass a wave of legislative initiatives, which taken all together, would dismantle much of the nation's body of law protecting the environment and indigenous people – an effort likely to escalate in 2017.
In Brazil, hydroelectric dams are a reflection of the system's problems: corruption, injustice and inequality.
From North to South America and around the world, the ascendency of authoritarian leaders portends dangerous days ahead. Yet at the same time, remarkable stories continue to emerge of determined resistance to these brutal regressions, led by the continent's indigenous peoples from the Amazon to Standing Rock.
Belo Monte: After the Flood is a documentary exploring the effects of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the environment and peoples of the Brazilian city of Altamira and the Xingu River basin, a tributary to the Amazon River.
There are currently over 60 major hydroelectric dam projects in the Amazon. The third largest project is the Belo Monte on the Xingu River, Brazil, which has already displaced 20,000 indigenous and riverine people.
The impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff, coup or not, represents a fundamental realigning of modern Brazil. For some in the country, the crisis is an opportunity. These politicians and businessmen are now exploiting the upheaval to roll-back environmental laws and get their hands on the vast natural resources found in protected regions...
Last week, in a stunning turn of events, Brazil's environmental agency IBAMA definitively shelved plans to carve the São Luiz do Tapajós mega-dam into the heart of the Amazon. Deeming the project a socio-environmental liability for its devastating impacts upon the lands and way of life of the Munduruku people, IBAMA's bold move could reflect a...
Indigenous people living in Brazil's rainforest have welcomed a decision by the national environment agency to cancel a proposed mega-dam in the Amazon which they say would have displaced communities while opening the sensitive region to logging.
Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch said: "We have been awaiting such a welcome announcement from the Brazilian government for more than a decade, while witnessing the tragic and unnecessary damming of the Madeira and Xingu rivers during this time."
Brasilia, Brazil – Brazil's Federal Environmental Agency announced the cancellation of licensing for the polemic São Luiz do Tapajós mega-dam, the largest hydroelectric project planned for the Amazon.
Last week's indigenous mobilization in Brasilia – detailed in the following blog from the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA) – came as a response to the current, alarming and mounting assault on the rights of Brazil's indigenous peoples. The Brasilia protest articulated an appeal from indigenous leadership to national governments via their...
Itaituba, Brazil – Today, Munduruku representatives and Greenpeace volunteers started a community-led effort to establish the boundaries of an Indigenous land in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon with the aim of protecting traditional areas. These particular lands are threatened by the controversial proposed São Luiz do Tapajós mega dam...
Amazonia's surge in hydropower development threatens numerous species with extinction and puts unique habitats at risk, warns a recent study.
Renewed attempts by top lawmakers to remove environmental licensing requirements for "strategic" development projects in Brazil have been stalled. Controversial schemes include stalled plans for the São Luiz do Tapajós hydroelectric complex – which critics warn could infringe on indigenous lands, destroy local biodiversity and trigger...
"Those who have taken power are backing an explicitly regressive, anti-environmental agenda," said Christian Poirier, of U.S.-based Amazon Watch.
Taking advantage of Brazil's present political turbulence, as the battle to impeach President Dilma Rousseff reaches its climax, reactionary politicians are quietly rolling back environmental and indigenous protection laws in defiance of the country's commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Under the cover of political mayhem, lawmakers have discreetly moved this polemic proposal toward a plenary vote, threatening to erase Brazil's environmental legislation in one fell swoop.
A Commission in the Brazilian Senate has quietly approved a constitutional amendment that would shred the environmental safeguards currently required for public works. If ratified, the amendment could give a green light and fast track approval to major infrastructure projects nationwide including the controversial Sao Luiz do Tapajós hydroelectric...
The most important project of President Dilma Rousseff's energy program is also a monumental example of how energy should not be produced in the 21st century. In addition to its high price tag, the dam is associated with corruption and massive human rights violations due to its social and environmental impacts.
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