Mega_Dams_South_America

Belo Monte Dam Soc 120 Kathy Moyer Robert Olson Sep 5, 2010 Plans to build a towering hydro-electric dam on the Xingu (Shin-goo) River were conceived in the 1970s, but, have been repeatedly staled. In 1989 these issues were again brought up. The Indians of the Amazon area ban together and stopped it once again. The indigenous peoples protested it and won. Now in 2010 some twenty years later these companies bid on the land again and won. The Belo Monte Dam and five others will now be built on the Xingo and Amazon Rivers. The Kayapo, Aura, Menina’co, and Jaulapiti tribes are just a few that live in the area of the dam site. These indigenous peoples depend on the river for food and transportation. They also hunt and farm on these lands. They don’t destroy the land in anyway, they use the slash and burn method and when they move on to another area this land grows back. There are villages all along the rivers; some have as many as 6,000 people and others as few as 50. They use natural plant materials to build the homes and villages. The trees and plant life are a source of food and medicines. The government set this land aside for these tribes. There is an estimated amount of 170 tribes in these areas and many are isolated tribes. There cultures are of many years old and to change this would mean genocide from most all tribes. Many of the tribes have not been contacted about the impacts of the dams. These tribes use the rivers as a form of travel and fishing. This is there supermarket. Hydropower dams do cause the flooding of large areas of land; displace wildlife, people, and much of the fish in the rivers. The turbines kill large fish when turned on. They alter the natural flow of the rivers and cause problems for migrating fish. Fish spawn in running water and this will cause less spawning; in turn there will be less fish. Building on the rivers and flooding the forests will cause the loss of animals, trees, and produce greenhouse effects and put Methane in the air. This process can go on for years or indefinitely in areas that are intermittently flooded and dried. Large forest areas remove CO2 from the air, when the flooding happens there will be no way to remove the CO2 or any other impurities in the. (World Commission on Hydropower Dams). The first global assessment of the impact of the dams on the tribes suggests more than 300,000 indigenous people could be pushed towards economic ruin and, in the case of some isolated Brazilian groups, to extinction. (Vidal, John). At least 2000,000 people from eight tribes are threatened and a further 2000,000 people will be adversely affected by the Gibe 111 dam on the Omo river in Ethiopia. Ten thousand people in Sarawak, Malaysia, have been displaced by the Bakun dam, which is expected to open next year, and a series of Latin American dams could force many thousands of people off their land. The report says the World Bank is one of the biggest funders of destructive dams, despite worldwide criticism in the 1990s for supporting such projects. Its portfolio now stands at $11bn, with funding up more than 50% on 1997. (John Vidal). The dams are intended to provide much-needed, low-carbon electricity for burgeoning cities, but, the report says tribal people living in their vicinity will gain little or nothing. Most of the power generated will be taken by large industries, it concludes. (John Vidal). The quality of the dams can also block a lot of the nutrients and sediment that nourish the banks and replenish the beaches. When water is diverted from natural streambeds, temptures usually rise, often to the point that they can’t sustain fisheries. They can degrade the quality of water as well. This is done by reducing oxygen, trapping, sediment, and pollutants in its reservoirs. These dams don’t produce as much power as the electric generating systems. The hydropower dams because the release of greenhouse gasses from the decaying plants that are underwater. (H. Clare Callow 2009). Methane production will go unchecked because climate scientists cannot agree on how significant this is; it will also vary between dams. But if Fearnside gets his way these full emissions would be included. (Duncan Graham-Rowe 2005). Dams have been known to be breached (the dam gives under the weight of the water in the lake). This has lead to deaths and flooding. They also alter the level of water table. Building large dams can cause serious Geological damage. Example; the Hoover dam in the USA triggered a number of earth quakes and has depressed the earth’s surface at its location. Flooding of land means that natural environment is destroyed. (V. Ryan 2005-2009). Shelia Juruna, an indigenous activist leading the anti-Belo Monte campaign, contrasted Brazil’s attempts to restore order in Haiti, through its UN stabilization force, with its treatment of the country’s indigenous peoples. “Our government is helping other countries where disasters are happening. But here in Brazil they are destroying us,” she said. Speaking in Brazil last week, James Cameron called the dam an ecological disaster and said there were alternatives. (Tom Phillips 2010). Small hydropower projects are not necessarily a “greener” energy source; these ecological impacts can be caused by any type of hydropower project, regardless of its size. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission conducted a study in 2001 and found that the new licenses for over 240 projects issued from 1986 to 2001 resulted in only a 1.6 percent average decrease in each hydropower project’s energy capacity. (Hydroreform).Larger dams with reservoirs often retain winter and spring flows that would naturally flush and renew river ecosystems. (Hydroreform). Contrary to popular belief, hydroelectric power can seriously damage the climate. Eric Duchemin says,” everyone thinks hydro is very clean, but this is not the case.” In a study to be published in Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Fearnside estimates that in 1990 the greenhouse effect of emissions from the Curua-Una dam in Para, Brazil, was more than three-and-a-half times what would have been produced by generating the same amount of electricity from oil. (Duncan Graham-Rowe). After this first pulse of decay, plant matter setting on the reservoir’s bottom decomposes without oxygen, resulting in a build-up of dissolved methane. This releases into the atmosphere when water passes through the dam’s turbines. Seasonal changes in water depth mean there is a continuous supply of decaying material. In the dry season plants colonize the banks of the reservoir only to be engulfed when the water level rises. In effect man-made reservoirs convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into methane. Methane’s effect on global warming is 21 times stronger than carbon dioxide’s. (Duncan Graham-Rowe). Some anti-dam organizations have succeeded in increasing awareness of the drawbacks of hydropower. These groups, such as the Hydropower Reform Coalition, state that their aim is not to end the use of hydropower completely but to use them with more awareness of their impact on the environment. (H Clare Callow). Low River generally reduces recreational opportunities, harming local tourism-based economies and personal enjoyment of a public resource. Some hydropower dams block public access to rivers altogether and eliminate opportunities to boat or fish. ( Hydroreform). Brazil’s environmental minister Carlos Minc said, “The Company that would winning company that would construct the project would be forced to spend around 800m offsetting the environmental damage caused by the project.” (Rebecca Summer p2, Para 4). President Lula told me he “did not intend to repeat the disaster of the Balbina Dam, located in Uatuma River in the state of Amazonas, which can be classified as a monument of insanity. But, if Lula’s government insists on the construction of the Belo Monte, it will go into history as a predator of the environment, of Amazon, and as the government that determined the extinction of the indigenous peoples of the Xingu River. Belo Monte, instead of progress, will bring death.”(Rebecca Somber). All over Brazil, indigenous peoples are living in differing degrees of isolation. Illegal miners, ranchers, loggers and other groups pose a risk to Indians’ lives and well being and destroy their natural resources. FUNAI’s task is to ensure that their rights are respected as set out in the Brazilian Constitution and the Indian Statute. Its work is wide-ranging and includes opposition to’ Hakani’, the controversial evangelical missionary film which promotes intervention by the authorities in tribal communities. (FUNAI). FUNAI is made up of several departments, one of which is the General Coordination Unit of Uncontacted Indians, established in 1987.It is the only government department in the world which is dedicated to the protection of indigenous peoples who have little or no contact with national society and other tribes. Founded by Sydney Possuelo, as a result of witnessing death and disease provoked by government missions which sought to make contact with previously isolated tribes. He introduced significant changes to government policy, and the previous strategy of establishing contact with such groups with the aim of eventual integration was substituted for one of protection and respect for the Indians’ right to remain isolated. (FUNAI). They are responsible for protecting 14 million hectares of isolated Indians’ territory, more than three times the size of Switzerland. FUNAI held SPI responsible for much of the suffering and even for the extermination of some tribes, the very people it was supposed to protect. A recent FUNAI report says noise of the dam construction has already pushed some of these Indians off their land, into a territory where miners are operating illegally. Any encounter between the uncontacted Indians and the miners could spark off conflict. (Clive W. Dennis). The uncontacted Indians have little or no immunity to common diseases. Any form of contact threatens to drive them to extinction, as has frequently in the past. If construction of the dam continues, the project will build new roads, bringing in an influx of loggers, miners, colonists and land grabbers to the area, thus increasing deforestation and harming the hunting and fishing grounds on which the tribes depend for their survival. (Clive W. Dennis). The dams’ will make waters stagnant, an ideal breeding ground for deadly diseases such as malaria, which are already common in this part of the western Amazon. There has been very little consultation with the indigenous peoples about the project, and they did not give their free, prior and informed consent for the dams to be built. This is in violation of Brazil’s constitution and convention 169 of the International Labour Organization which has been ratified by Brazil. “The government as still not come and spoken to us about what impacts the dam will have. The market, the supermarket of the Indians is the river.” said Valmir Parintintin. (Clive W. Dennis p2 Para 7). In the case of professional organizations, violations can result in the loss of one’s license to practice the profession. Far from being shallow or irrelevant, codes of ethics provide essential guidance in the conduct of a business or profession. (Ruggiero,V.R. P 69 Para 2). Belo Monte would be the third largest dam in the world, and the largest development project in the Amazon, that would devastate an extensive area of Brazilian rain forest, threatening the survival of indigenous peoples, and severely violating their rights. Many Brazilian experts raised their concerns about the planned project. Two senior officials at IBAMA, Leozildo Tabajara Da Silva Benjamin and Sebastiao Custodio Pires, resigned their posts last year, citing high-level political pressure to approve the project. (Rebecca Sommer p1 Para 1). These dams have been built in other areas and countries. They have caused a lot or problems for the people in those areas. The backup of water has decayed some ancient areas as well as the safety of the drinking water. They have taken out trees and vegetation; animals have gone instinct from the lack of food sources and trees. People are leaving the areas because of the noise and loss of food. Cultures are dying off that have been around for generations. People are being murdered for the land they live on. Now they want to flood the Rain Forest by building a dam that will cause genocide in most areas, from lack of contact and knowledge. These people that are building this dam has not tried to contact the people that live in this forest nor does it seem they care. They just want this land and if it means they murder the people by flooding them then they will do so. They have no Moral Code of Ethics they care to follow as long as they get what they want in any way possible .This land was set aside for the Indians many years ago and this is where they have lived and all they know. These people don’t need to be displaced nor die because the greedy people of the government are wanting it now. I agree with the tribes when they say a time is coming that blood will be shed, the blood of many. References Callow, H. Clare. (2009). Hydropower Pros and Cons. Retrieved: Aug. 10, 2010. http://www.edubook.com/hydropower-pros-and-cons/15441/ Dennis, Clive W. ( ). Madeira River dams. Retrieved: Aug. 10, 2010. P2, Para 7. http://www.survivalinternational.org/about/madeira-dams Hydroreform. ( ). Hydropower Dams Harm Rivers Retrieved: Aug. 8, 2010. http://www.hydroreform.org/book/export/html/2926 Phillips, Tom. (April 21, 2010). Awarding of Brazilian dam contract prompts warning of Bloodshed. Retrieved: Aug. 8, 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/apr/21/contract-belo-monte-dam/ Rowe-Graham, Duncan. (Feb 24, 2005). Hydroelectric power’s dirty secret revealed. Retrieved: Aug. 8, 2010. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046-hydroelectric-powers-dirty-secret-revealed.ht... Ruggiero, V.R. (2008). Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues. P69, Para2. Text Book. Sommer, Rebecca. (March 11, 2010). Shame on Brazil: Stop the Amazon Mega-Dam project Belo Monte. Retrieved: Aug 30, 2010. P2, Para 4&6. http://www.huntingtonnews.net/columns/100311-sommer-columnsbrazil... Vidal, John. ( Aug. 9, 2010). Hydroelectric dams pose threat to tribal peoples, report warns. Retrieved: Aug. 10, 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/enviroment/2010/aug/09/hydroelectric-dams-tribal-people World Commission on Hydropower Dams. (2007 ). Pros and Cons of Hydropower Dams. Retrieved: Aug. 10, 2010. http://www.energy-consumers-edge.com/hydropower_dams_pros_and_cons.html