Protect Amazon Rivers, Forest and Activists / Brazil
From Global Response
November 19, 2001
“What will be left of the Xingu River for the people of Xingu?” -- Ademir Alfeu Federicci, opponent of the Belo Monte Dam, murdered Aug. 25, 2001In the late 1980s, the Kayapo people forced the Brazilian government to abandon plans to build 6 huge dams on the Xingu River. The international uproar over environmental and human rights concerns was enough to persuade the World Bank to suspend financing for all dams in the Amazon Basin.
Now Eletronorte, the state-owned electrical utilities company, is back on the Xingu River with plans to build a first dam, the Belo Monte, with a smaller reservoir than the original design. Since Belo Monte won’t have enough water to generate electricity during the 4-month dry season, critics feel certain that more dams will be built upstream to increase efficiency. These will have huge reservoirs that will double the amount of submerged rainforest in Brazil.
While Eletronorte’s PR team touts the Xingu dams as “a blessing from God,” the battle between different development models for the Amazon has turned bitter and bloody. Since June, 5 grassroots activists have been murdered and hundreds jailed. They and their organizations denounce the government’s $40 billion top-down plan to build 6,000 miles of highway, dams, mines, power lines, gas and oil fields and logging concessions throughout the Amazon.
MDTX, a coalition of 113 organizations representing farmers, women, indigenous peoples, youth, scientists and religious groups, argues for a bottom-up model of sustainable development, land reform, indigenous rights and environmental protection.
“Why sacrifice the Xingu River by building dams, when its basin represents one of the country’s most important sites of ecological capital in its natural state?,” wrote murdered activist Ademir Alfeu Federicci in an MDTX letter.
Indeed, the earth’s most biologically diverse region hangs in the balance. One-third of all the world’s species live in the Amazon River Basin; one-third of the world’s tropical woods (2,500 tree species) occur only in the Amazon. The Amazon River and its tributaries, including the Xingu, supply 20% of the earth’s fresh water and have the highest diversity of freshwater fish.
Brazil receives 93% of its electricity from large dams. One million Brazilians have already lost their lands and livelihoods because of dam construction. Indigenous peoples are especially vulnerable since their survival depends on their knowledge of specific ecosystems. Dams on the Xingu River would flood parts of the Xingu Indigenous Park, threatening the survival and cultural integrity of at least 15 indigenous tribes, including the Kayapo.
REQUESTED ACTION
MDTX is calling for international support to pressure the Brazilian government to bring the murderers of community leaders to justice, and to require community participation and consent for dam construction projects in keeping with the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams (see box).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
MURDER IN THE AMAZON – The Belo Monte dam’s most prominent critic was Ademir Alfeu Federicci, known to his neighbors as Dema. In addition to voicing environmental and human rights concerns, Dema denounced corruption among Xingu government officials who stand to gain from Eletronorte’s compensation payments. Instead of opening serious democratic debate about the project, Eletronorte has intimidated opposition groups. In a letter to the president, Dema wrote, “All public meetings against the dam have been filmed by police and intelligence forces. This is unacceptable in a debate over the future of the Amazon.”
At dawn on August 25 in his home, 36-year-old Dema wasshot in the head in front of his wife and children. More than 3,000 people attended his funeral the next day. MDTX leaders have no confidence in local authorities who are unlikely to investigate the powerful interests behind the murder. Indeed, they are investigating it as a robbery-homicide, although nothing was stolen from Dema’s home.
Intimidation and fear reign in the region, where a
newspaper recently printed a death list of 24 activists.
WORLD COMMISSION ON DAMS – The World Commission on Dams was convened by the World Bank to review the performance of large dams and make recommendations for future planning of water and energy projects worldwide. Twelve Commissioners from industry, financial institutions, environmental organizations and dam-affected communities produced a final report (www.dams.org) which found that large dams do not produce as much electricity, provide as much water or control as much flood damage as their backers claim. They regularly suffer huge cost-overruns. Worldwide, large dams have forced 40-80 million people from their homes; people living downstream of dams suffer increased disease and loss of sustenance. Environmental damage includes the extinction of many fish and other aquatic species, huge losses of forest, wetland and farmland.
Based on these findings, the World Commission on Dams recommends that: * governments should maximize the efficiency of existing water and energy systems before building any new dam; * no dam should be built without the agreement of the affected people. The International Rivers Network and dam-affected peoples are urging governments worldwide to adopt and implement these recommendations. See: www.irn.org.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN BRAZIL – Through conquest, colonization and “development,” dozens of Brazil’s indigenous cultures have been exterminated. An estimated indigenous population of 6 million in the 1500s has been reduced to barely 300,000 today. Over 30 years of struggle, Brazilian Indians have won official recognition of their land rights to 20% of the Amazon Basin. Still, indigenous lands are often invaded or threatened by large-scale development schemes. See: www.socioambiental.org; http://forests.org/brazil/
REQUESTED ACTION
Please write a polite letter to the president of Brazil.
Express your concern about the atmosphere of intimidation in the Amazon region, and ask him to guarantee full protection of the rights of free speech and personal safety for community activists there.
Demand a full investigation into the August 25 murder of Ademir Alfeu Federicci to identify the real authors of this crime and bring them to justice.
Ask him to order Eletronorte to immediately release the feasibility studies for the Belo Monte dam, for independent review.
Urge him to suspend construction of the Belo Monte dam in order to first adopt and implement the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams, specifically:
-give priority to maximizing the efficiency of existing water and energy systems before building any new dam;
-build no large dam without the informed consent of the affected people.
Express your support for the 130 local organizations that form the Amazon Working Group(GTA) in their petition for a Moratorium on all high-impact development projects in the Amazon; the Moratorium should be enforced until consensus is reached with all communities that would be affected by these projects.
YOUR LETTER WILL BE MOST EFFECTIVE STAMPED AND MAILED. SECOND BEST: FAX
THIRD BEST: EMAIL
MOST IMPORTANT: DO ONE OF THESE!
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
Exmo. Sr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Presidente da República
Praça dos Tres Poderes
Palacio do Planalto - 3o Andar
Brasília – DF 70150-900
Brazil
(Postage from US is $.80)FAX: Int’l Code+55 (61) 411-2222EMAIL: presidencia@planalto.gov.br; pr@planalto.gov.br
This Global Response Action was issued at the request of and with information provided by the Movimento Pelo Desenvolvimento da Transamazonica e Xingu (MDTX); Amazon Watch (www.amazonwatch.org); Environmental Defense (www.environmentaldefense.org); and International Rivers Network (www.irn.org).
Paula Palmer, Executive Director
Global Response
PO Box 7490
Boulder CO 80306
Tel. 303-444-0306
Fax. 303-449-9794
Website: www.globalresponse.org
Mission
Global Response empowers people of all ages, cultures, and nationalities to protect the environment by creating partnerships for effective citizen action. At the request of indigenous peoples and grassroots organizations, Global Response organizes international letter-writing campaigns to help communities prevent environmental destruction. Global Response involves young people as well as adults in these campaigns, to develop in them the values and skills for global citizen cooperation and earth stewardship.
NEW! Now you can make donations online at: www.globalresponse.org.