Kaipaó protest in Brazil against dams

Edison Lobão, the Minister of Mine”s and Energy, recently said people against the building of dams in the Amazon are “demoniac forces. Lobão, and the ministry he oversees, has never been considered much of a friend to indigenous people in Brazil, but that comment was over the top by almost any estimation and stoked the flames of the debate even further.

 

There is a lot at work here way beyond name calling. But the bottom line is this: Brazil is quietly, with little scrutiny from inside or outside Brazil, building dozens of new hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Amazon. They say it´s necssary to fuel growth. But it comes at the expense of the environment and the native peoples who live on the rivers being dammed.

 

The entire issue of the building of dams in the Brazilian Amazon is one of the most fascinating – and least talked about - stories in all of Brazil in my opinion. I would not be surprised if years from now, people look at all the rivers dammed in the Amazon and say “how did we let this happen?”

 

There is a lot more to talk about on the issue of dams in the Amazon, and I will do so in future posts and stories. I have spent time with indigenous people who are against dams at all costs, and also with dam engineers at Amazon dams who think the dams are the best thing since the invention of the light bulb. But the point of this post is just to bring attention to the Kaipaó protest and point you in the direction of where you can find more information on the issue from people who are fighting against it, because they are really fighting an uphill battle against strong forces of the Brazilian government.

 

Glenn Switkes, the Sao Paulo-based Amazon Director of International Rivers, is probably one of the most educated experts on the issue, anywhere. He has a must-read blog for insiders, and an International Rivers investigative report on the costs of the Belo Monte dam can be found here.

 

London-based Survival International is a well known resource for more information. Here you can find their release on the latest Kaipaó protest.

 

And in Brazil, the Movement of Dam Effected People (or MAB) fights the issue from a grassroots level in Brazil. The membership is mostly made up of poor, rural workers who often occupy dams to bring attention to the issue. The link above will take you to their English language site. 

 

There is a lot more to be done on the issue of dams in the Amazon. Like I said, it´s an issue that needs urgent attention on many levels. I have some photos, taken by Al Jazeera during a recent reporting trip, of destruction dams cause in the Amazon. I will post them in a future blog post, as well as reasons why the government is so supportive of them, and why the issue doesn´t get more attention.