Power Lines Invade Venezuelan Parkland
3/17/97
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Headline: Power Lines Invade Venezuelan Parkland
Source: Environment News Service
Date: 3/17/97
Author: Dominic Hamilton
Copyright c 1997 ENS, Inc.
By Dominic Hamilton CARACAS, Venezuela, Mar. 17'97 (ENS) - The Pemon
Indians of southeastern Venezuela have expressed their extreme concern at
the prospect of high tension power lines crossing their lands as part of
the country's plan to sell electricity to Brazil. At a meeting of Pemon
leaders last week, letters were sent to various government agencies
demanding further information concerning the project and direct
consultation over any decisions made involving their lands.
In the autumn of 1997, Presidents Rafael Caldera of Venezuela and Fernando
Enrique Cardoso of Brazil signed an agreement to provide Brazil with
electricity by 1998. The agreement requires the construction of
high-tension power lines from the Raul Leoni complex of dams on the River
Orinoco south to Brazil through Bolvar State and Canaima National Park.
The state company EDELCA, afiliate of the Corporac›n Venezolana de
Guayana (CVG), will tender contracts and supervise the work.
The most likely course for the string of power pylons is thought to be
along the main Troncal 10 highway, which links Venezuela to Brazil's
Roraima State. The lines could cross up to 200 kilometres (120 miles) of
Canaima National Park, depending on which side of the road is chosen.
Irreparable damage to the Sierra de Lema range of mountains, on the Guyana
Shield's and Canaima's northern edge, is also feared. The range is known
for the uniqueness of its flora and fauna and its great biodiversity. It
is also largely unexplored.
Pemon leaders stated in the letters, "We require this information as soon
as possible in view of the recent media coverage of the matter, and the
presence of technical personnel surveying in the area. This despite the
lack of knowledge of such activities by public servants in the region in
charge of administering affected areas. We ask for this information in
accordance with article 67 of our Constitution."
Juvencio G›mez, the leading 'captain' of the Gran Sabana's Pemon, said,
"We are very worried about the project. It is unjust that as citizens and
aboriginals of this region we are not involved at any level in
decision-making processes. We insist we be fully informed of projects, of
any sort. Dialogue is essential."
On no occasion have the Pemon, who have historically inhabited eastern
Bolvar State been consulted. Neither do they have any idea of the exact
future location of pylons, and roads, or of the prospective health impacts
of the project.
Other institutions, such as the country's Institute of National Parks,
INPARQUES, are also ignorant of EDELCA's plans. The only plans to come to
light to date conspicuously stopped short of describing the course of
pylons at the foot of the Sierra de Lema range.
A spokesperson for the Venezuelan Senate's Permanent Environmental
Commission promised to pressure for a full impact assessment of the
project. "We want to minimise the environmental and social damage the plan
could cause. We will be calling for an open debate of the proposals to
ensure as much participation from all parties affected. The lack of public
and institutional knowledge about such a large-scale and costly project is
frightening."
Canaima National Park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995
and is one of the largest and most admired national parks in the world.
Environmentalists believe its heritage status might well be revoked in
view of the project's social, biological and visual impact.
Recent investigations into the effects of high-tension electric currents
have revealed worrying evidence of their harmful health impacts, and their
adverse effects on magnetic fields and bio-energetic processes. In view of
the region's limited human intervention to date, the power project's
impact will be dramatic.
The region is known for the great fragility of its soils. Top soils
damaged in the late 1980s by the building of the Troncal 10 highway have
largely failed to recuperate. Instead, they have eroded progressively to
create 20 foot (6 meter) gulleys which alter watercourses.
In letters to the President of EDELCA, Efraim Carrera Saœd, and the
Ministry of Health, Pemon leaders demanded detailed information on the
exact trajectory of the powerlines; the measures to be employed by
CVG-EDELCA to minimise environmental and social impacts; a description of
the activities which EDELCA will execute in order to carry out maintenance
and repair the lines, and detailed maps drawn by state's surveying agency,
the Direcci›n de Cartografa Nacional.
Juvencio G›mez said that the Pemon "We want to defend our lands, our
forests, our rivers and way of life. Projects as potencially destructive
as these only benefit large companies and entrepreneurs, while the
majority perceive no improvement. They want to make the Indian into
another white-man's maid."