| This Information is dated: |
2005 |
Alcoa and Brazil's latest dam project
They're doing it again....
Brazilian environmental activists are charging that Brazilian
environmental authorities and an Alcoa lead consortium planning
construction of Barra Grande dam conspired to commit fraud in the
awarding of an environmental license for the project. Members of
Brazil's Movement of Dam-Affected People (MAB) and environmentalists
blockaded the access road to a stand of virgin forest slated for
clearing before the filling of the reservoir. In all, 6,000 hectares of
primary forests, including araucaria pines, in one of the richest
remaining expanses of the threatened Atlantic Coast rainforest, would
be flooded by the dam on the Pelotas river in Southern Brazil. A 2,000
hectare stand of virgin araucaria forests was somehow "omitted" in the
project’s environmental studies. Local groups have filed a
lawsuit asking a federal court to annul the license awarded to Barra
Grande, to require the consortium to carry out new studies evaluating
the possibility of operating the reservoir at a lower level to avoid
drowning the araucaria forests, and if this is deemed impossible, to
order the demolition of the dam structure. Heavily-armed riot police
have reportedly been sent to the area to disperse protestors. The
consortium building Barra Grande includes the Pittsburgh-based Alcoa
aluminum company (which contains Kathy Fuller, President of WWF-USA as
a Board Member), MAB leader Soli da Silva says the mobilization will
continue indefinitely. "We cannot permit that fraud and a 'done deal'
become the rule on environmental licensing for hydroelectric projects
in our country." Please support these brave environmentalists at
http://forests.org/action/brazil/ .
Barra Grande: "The Hydroelectric Dam that Ignored the Forest"
by Jason Coughlin, Greengrants Volunteer
Dams happen. Sometimes, the best that environmental groups can do is to
ameliorate a dam's impact on the people and environment of the area,
and to make sure that the next project will have a full and fair
environmental review. Those are exactly the accomplishments of the The
Movement of Dam-Affected People (MAB) and APREMAVI
(Associação de Preservação do Meio Ambiente
do Alto Vale do Itajaí), two Greengrants grantees that have
opposed Brazil's vast Barra Grande hydroelectric dam.
Brazil's burgeoning energy needs have led its government to construct
several large-scale hydroelectric plants, such as the $400 million, 695
megawatt, Barra Grande Dam on the Pelotas River in the southern state
of Rio Grande do Sul. A consortium called Barra Grande Energetica S/A
(or BAESA), which includes the US aluminum giant ALCOA, is building the
dam. The participation of ALCOA in this project is not surprising given
that the aluminum industry is the world's largest industrial consumer
of electrical energy, using about 1% of all the electrical energy
generated globally, and about 7% of world industrial consumption. In
the case of Brazil, the aluminum industry accounts for roughly 8% of
the country's total electricity use.
Only after 80% of the Barra Grande Dam had been built was it discovered
that the original Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was fraudulent.
According to this initial EIA, the 92,000 sq km of land that was to be
flooded consisted basically of degraded land "without significant
environmental value". However, as a result of pressure put on it by
environmental groups, BAESA conducted a second EIA that discovered that
roughly 50% of the land to be flooded was actually primary Atlantic
Coastal forest (Mata Atlântica) or secondary forest in recovery.
Included in this area were swaths of the native pine tree
Araucária, which is a protected species in the country.
According to experts, only 1% of Brazil's original Araucária
forest survives today. Conservation International lists the Brazilian
Atlantic Forest where the Barra Grande dam is located, as one of its 34
global "biodiversity hotspots. Once covering an estimated 1.2 million
square kilometers, today less than 10% of the Mata Atlântica
remains intact.
Nonetheless, the case was made by BAESA that since the original EIA was
done prior to the consortium assuming control of the project, it should
not be held accountable for the erroneous report. Furthermore, given
the advanced stage of construction of the dam, BAESA argued that the
only option that made sense was for the project to go forward.
After numerous legal injunctions, on July 4th, 2005 BAESA was given the
go-ahead by the courts to proceed. The decision was based on the fact
that most of the work had already been concluded, and that not
finishing the project would result in financial losses for the
consortium. Shortly thereafter, the buzz of chainsaws signaled that the
demise of the forest had begun. "With this act, IBAMA (the Brazilian
Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) has blessed
the extinction of a large part of the Coastal Forest ecosystem and its
Araucárias trees," lamented Miriam Pronchow, Greengrants Advisor
and Director of APREMAVI.
Environmental Response
One organization that has responded to the impacts of Barra Grande is
the Movement of Dam-Affected People (MAB). MAB was created in the
1980s, uniting struggles in various regions of Brazil. It is the best
organized movement of dam–affected people in the world. MAB is
demanding that the government halt subsidies to energy-intensive
industries, such as aluminum production, and instead provide
electricity to rural communities. At the same time, MAB defends the
rights of dam–affected populations; demanding fair compensation
for their losses and a role in the resettlement process so that it
actually improves the quality of life of those relocated.
The need for MAB is great, as the promises of assistance that the
Brazilian government has made to families forced to relocate have not
always been honored. According to the International River Network, more
than one million people have been displaced by the construction of dams
in Brazil and at least 30,000 families affected by dams constructed 20
years ago are still awaiting compensation.
MAB used a $5,000 grant from Global Greengrants to give voice to the
1,200 families being forced to relocate as a result of the Barra Grande
dam. Through the organization of numerous community meetings and
boisterous protest marches, MAB helped the local communities carve out
a role in the decision making process. In addition, MAB funded a public
media campaign to denounce the fraudulent EIA that led to the approval
of the project.
While the attempt to prevent the completion of the dam itself was not
successful, MAB certainly did have a positive impact not only on the
families impacted by the project, but also in publicizing the nature of
the fraud that took place. Ideally, this will sensitize other
environmental groups both in Brazil and abroad about the need to demand
a review of EIAs to ensure their integrity prior to projects being
started.
As a result of its negotiations with MAB, BAESA set up a fund of six
million reais (approximately $2.5 million) for agriculture and credit
programs that the displaced families could tap into as they attempt to
restart their lives. This fund would also finance a pilot project for
one of the affected communities to create a regional development plan
as well as provide technical assistance for the all of the communities
impacted by the dam. MAB was able to get an additional 214 families
included in the relocation process, as well as material for the
construction of 400 houses.
In addition to these concessions from BAESA, MAB successfully
negotiated additional resources and support from the Brazilian
government. The government agreed to provide electricity for 600
resettled families (an ironic concession given that the families were
relocated to build a hydro-electric dam), basic foodstuffs for 1,400
families as well as technical assistance for the building of 400
houses. MAB requested and received an audience with the Minister of
Mines and Energy and with the Chief of Staff of the President to voice
the concerns of the families affected by the dam.
The second grantee active in the fight against the Barra Grande project
was APREMAVI (Associação de Preservação do
Meio Ambiente do Alto Vale do Itajaí). With the help of a grant
of $1,000 from Global Greengrants, APREMAVI was able to publish and
distribute a book titled Barra Grande – The Hydroelectric Dam
that Ignored the Forest about the environmental impacts of the project.
The book was a collaborative effort by 12 authors who approached the
problem from a variety of legal, social, environmental and economic
viewpoints. APREMAVI also enlisted legal support to stop the
deforestation associated with the project and carried out its own
campaign to mobilize the public against the completion of the project.
APREMAVI was active in organizing additional support for the activities
of MAB and indirectly contributed to the successes of this group's
campaign as well.
Recently celebrating its 18th anniversary, APREMAVI is an association
of non-governmental organizations, who jointly see their mission as
"defending, preserving and restoring the endangered Atlantic Forest and
surrounding cultural values as a means to improve the quality of life
for those that live in the region." APREMAVI's activities cover a wide
range of topics from the replanting of trees in previously deforested
areas and the management of seed banks for native species, to the
production of environmental videos and training materials on a variety
of related topics.
Both APREMAVI and MAB are committed to making sure that the agreements
reached with both BAESA and the government will be honored. However
much remains to be done. In the words of one of MAB's organizers:
"Unfortunately in our country, social concerns and the environment are
pushed aside because of our "development needs"…..However, what
kind of development forces families to leave their homes…and
which doesn't take into account the need to protect the environment.
… These are questions that aren't asked in our country and we
need to fight to change that. .... It is our challenge… and it
isn't easy…."
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