The belo monte project is perhaps the most complicated engineering work in the history of brazilian dam building. According to the environmental impact report eia rima, this power plant has the capacity to produce 11,233. Construction of the belo monte dam began in january 2012. The hydroelectric project encapsulates national ambitions, but its time for a debate about the kind of development brazil needs. Philip fearnside comments to pjcers on the teles pires. Mar 17, 2016 the belo monte dam under construction. This is because it was not planned or discussed as a possibility, or the environmental impact study eia, or in their respective environmental impact report rima. Atores e argumentos na luta sobre a barragem amazonica mais controversa do brasil. Topics belo monte amazonia collection opensource language portuguese. Eia rima, 2009 so that the alluvial plains can be wetted or, at least, the roots of the plants of the alluvial forests. Further, a report on environmental impact assessment rima is a non technical document but instead serves as a synthesis to public audiences. History of studies on belo monte hydroelectric power plant saracura, vf.
The eia further lacks analyses of synergistic effects, environmental effects due to the human population attracted to the area, increase in deforestation, and changes in the flood cycle. Vale is a shareholder in this hydroelectric project which has been criticized for causing major social, environmental and eco nomic destruction. New evidence has come forward alleging that the consortium selected to build the dam had made a large contribution to the ruling workers party in order to. This site is located 40km downstream altamira, where one finds the main dam, whose installation stopped the normal river flow and significantly changed its bed. Fearnside teles pires cdm comments international rivers.
A spearhead for brazils dambuilding attack on amazonia. The point of view of artisanal fishermen communities in brazil1 antonio carlos diegues university of saj o paulo 1. Then a preliminary licence must be granted before the contracts are let out for bidding by construction firms. Belo monte is a municipality located in the western of the brazilian state of alagoas.
No literature is cited here or anywhere in the document to substantiate the claim that amazonian hydroelectric dams such this one are emissions free. The most controversial dam project facing brazil today, belo monte is a struggle about the future of amazonia. Figure 10 state agencies and corporate actors involved in belo monte dam. Whats behind the belo monte dam rodrigo nunes world news. If allowed to proceed, belo monte will divert 80% of the flow of the xingu river, flooding an area of 516 square kilometers in the amazon basin, most of which is standing forest.
It is difficult to understand the belo monte eia unless you look at the history of. It was also not perceived as a worthy position of attention by the supervisory body responsible for the design of the licenses that allowed belo monte. If i had to sum it up in one sentence, i see belo monte as a possibility. Its population is 6,669 2005 and its area is 334 km the municipality was designated a priority area for conservation and sustainable use when the caatinga ecological corridor was created in 2006.
After its completion the mega dam belo monte in brazil, which has been under construction since 2011, will be the third largest dam in the world. Baixe no formato pdf, txt ou leia online no scribd. Estas medidas foram organizadas em planos, programas e projetos ambientais. Bndes funded belo monte dam a megaproject with megaproblems. There are at least 20 court cases before the federal attorney general related to problems of licensing, nonimplementation of conditions and irreversible impacts, etc. Term for the elaboration of the eis and of the rima of belo monte heps. Steamrolling belo monte in july 2005, the brazilian congress approved a legislative decree authorizing the construction of belo monte, despite the absence of a dulycompleted and approved environmental impact assessment eia and without conducting free, prior and informed consultations among indigenous communities. Environmental impact assessment in brazilian amazonia. After its completion, with the installation of its 18th turbine, on november 2019, the installed capacity of the dam complex is 11,233 megawatts mw, which makes it the second largest hydroelectric dam complex in brazil and fourth largest in the. The belo monte dam would divert the flow of the xingu, devastate an extensive area of the brazilian rainforest, displace over 20,000 people, and threaten the survival of indigenous tribes that depend on the river. The power generated would place it as the third biggest hydropower plant.
The planned installed capacity of the dam complex would be 11,233 megawatts mw, which would make it the secondlargest hydroelectric dam complex in brazil and one of the worlds largest in installed capacity, behind the three gorges dam. This complexity has resulted over the past two decades in an enormous set of conceptual and technical problems, omissions, and confusion. For the love of physics walter lewin may 16, 2011 duration. Feb 15, 2011 whats behind the belo monte dam rodrigo nunes. Abstract environmental impact assessment eia has the goal of providing decision makers with an indication of the likely environmental consequences of planned actions risking environmental changes and, when necessary, allowing revision of these actions to mitigate adverse impacts. O eia rima da usina hidreletrica belo monte e as populacoes indigenas. The amazon rainforest is often referred to as the lungs of the world and the belo monte dam requires the destruction of over 1500 square km of rainforest for construction. Apr 03, 2017 upstream dams were entirely omitted from this first eia, although the viability study for the onedam plan explains that considering only belo monte is the result of political considerations, and that belo montes output would be much greater with upstream dams brazil, eletronorte 2002. While the dam will be the third largest in the world and provide electricity to industry and citizen, the environmental and social impacts are astounding. History of studies on belo monte hydroelectric power plant. Introduction coastal and inland wetlands are undergoing a severe degradation in brazil basically due to the construction of large harbours, chemical and petrochemical industries, highly intensive. In 1975 this author was living in one of the transamazon highway colonization areas 50 km from altamira fearnside. The main issue raised by the letter is the absence of new social and environmental safeguards by bndes, the first public bank in brazil, which finances belo monte among others.
Map modified based on instituto socioambiental isa geoprocessing 20, with data from ibge, funai, and the eia rima for belo monte and eia rima belo sun. Brazils proposed belo monte dam formerly kararao and its upstream counterpart, the altamira dam better known by its former. Once the initial eia rima documents are approved, public hearings are held in the affected areas, modifications are made in the documents, and the final eia rima is approved. The eia process consists mostly of measures to compensate or mitigate the impacts of dams. Fearnside is a research professor at the national institute for research in the amazon inpa in manaus, amazonas, brazil since 1978. Here we provide an overview of the efficiency of eia with emphasis on brazilian amazonia and discuss the problems. The br319 road, belo monte dam and juruti mine have large biological negative impact. The xingu river and its peoples international rivers. A brief history of the belo monte struggle planning for a series of dams on the xingu river began in 1975 during brazils 19641985 military dictatorship.
Building futures scenarios for the volta grande do xingu in amazonia, brazil. Environmental impact assessment eia was formalized in several countries during the 1990s. Belo monte esta situado na zona fisiografica do sertao do baixo sao francisco, e possui um clima semiarido, quente e seco. Instead, the calculations later in the document rely on a cdm procedural clause related to the power density of the dam as the justification for using a. The eiarima process for hydroelectric dams suffered a setback in 2001, when.