The Sete Quedas or \u201cseven waterfalls\u201d on the Teles Pires River, which runs through the Amazon rainforest states of Mato Grosso and Par\u00e1 in central Brazil, are a spiritual oasis venerated by several indigenous groups.<\/p>\n
But the 20-metre-high rocky falls are to be covered by a reservoir created by a hydroelectric dam that is to flood an area of 95 square km.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a sacred area, our creator and mother. And the \u2018paj\u00e9\u2019 (shaman) says it is where the fish lay their eggs,\u201d Jo\u00e3o Kayabi, 52, told IPS by phone from the area. He is the chief of Kururuzinho village, home to 106 members of the Kayabi community, who speak a Tup\u00ed-Guaran\u00ed language.<\/p>\n
For the Kayabi, the area around Sete Quedas must be left untouched, because it is the dwelling of a god who is responsible for the natural balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be left underwater, and will only be a memory. We are trying to keep that from happening,\u201d Kayabi said.<\/p>\n
Sete Quedas is also sacred to two other indigenous communities: the Apiak\u00e1 and the Munduruk\u00fa. For the latter, the falls are \u201cthe mother of fish\u201d and the dwelling-place of their ancestors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Munduruk\u00fa say the river is going to dry up, there will be a shortage of food, and the fish will vanish. I hope that isn\u2019t so,\u201d Kayabi said.<\/p>\n
Studies on the biodiversity in that stretch of the river, carried out by Brazil\u2019s Energy Research Company (EPE), which conducts research for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, have identified nearly 700 plant species and more than 200 species of fish, such as the spotted sorubim (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans) catfish, the common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus), and the jau (Zungaro zungaro) catfish.<\/p>\n
The Teles Pires has the reputation of being one of the world\u2019s best rivers for fishing.<\/p>\n
In the indigenous territory where Jo\u00e3o Kayabi\u2019s village is located, nearly 300 people make a living from hunting, fishing and harvesting fruit.<\/p>\n
\u201cUp to now, our land has provided for us sufficiently. But we are concerned about what will happen in the future, and whether food will be scarce,\u201d said the chief, a father of seven. \u201cI\u2019m worried about my children; I don\u2019t know what will become of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Teles Pires plant will have a generating capacity of 1,820 MW. But the Companhia Hidrel\u00e9trica Teles Pires, the company that was granted the concession for building the dam, is fighting a judicial battle to be able to finish construction.<\/p>\n
The project collides with the beliefs, customs and traditions of the Kayabi, Munduruk\u00fa and Apiak\u00e1 Indians (a combined total of 12,000 people), said indigenous rights lawyer Juliana de Paula Batista, who advises native organisations in Brazil\u2019s southwest Amazon region.<\/p>\n
The case has been winding its way through the courts. In early August, a regional federal court ordered suspension of construction of the dam. But the attorney general\u2019s office and Brazil\u2019s environmental protection agency IBAMA appealed, and the suspension was lifted on Aug. 14.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe natural resources that are indispensable for indigenous people to sustain their lifestyle and culture are being plundered,\u201d Batista told IPS.<\/p>\n
Early this year, the office of the public prosecutor brought a civil lawsuit to revoke the environmental license granted by IBAMA in August 2011 and bring construction to an immediate halt.<\/p>\n
According to Batista, the environmental licensing process is flawed. \u201cAt no time has the magnitude of the impact on indigenous lands been fully understood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dam endangers fish stocks, the sacred site, water quality, rare and endemic species, vegetation in general, and hunting,\u201d the lawyer said.<\/p>\n
Although the tribes will not have to be relocated, they are afraid to remain in their villages \u201cbecause in case of accidents, such as a break in the dam, the water would carry them away,\u201d Batista said.<\/p>\n
The Kayabi villages are only 50 km from the dam.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no solution when it\u2019s a government plan, we have no way to fight this,\u201d Kayabi said. \u201cThe only way is to seek support and guidance. The dam will be built, and we are the ones who will be hurt by it, we could lose our rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the irregularities noted by the office of the public prosecutor was the company\u2019s failure to consult with the affected indigenous communities prior to the start of construction, as required by law. In March, work on the dam had already been suspended in response to the prosecutors\u2019 request.<\/p>\n
But the Companhia Hidrel\u00e9trica Teles Pires responded that \u201call of the public hearings were held in the presence of the concerned parties, and were filmed and recorded,\u201d according to a statement issued by the justice system.<\/p>\n
Teles Pires forms part of the Accelerated Growth Programme (PAC) launched by the government of Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva (2003- 2011), which involves private and public infrastructure spending to boost growth in Brazil.<\/p>\n
The dam is to be completed in August 2015, at a cost of 1.97 billion dollars.<\/p>\n
According to the company, the plant will supply 2.7 million families. The energy generated will feed the national grid.<\/p>\n
Court battles are being waged against dozens of other hydroelectric dams in the Amazon rainforest as well. On Aug. 13, the same regional federal court ordered a halt to the construction of the Belo Monte dam<\/a> on the Xingu River, which is to be the world\u2019s third largest dam.<\/p>\n The construction of some 30 Amazon jungle dams should be the object of \u201curgent debate in society,\u201d said the coordinator of the Amazon Investment Observatory, Alessandra Cardoso.<\/p>\n Cardoso, who is also a researcher with the Institute for Socioeconomic Studies (INESC), is the author of \u201cA Corrida por Megawatts: 30 hidrel\u00e9tricas na Amaz\u00f4nia Legal\u201d (\u201cthe race for megawatts: 30 hydroelectric dams in the Amazon region\u201d), a technical study published Jul. 26.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is already major debate on the social and environmental costs and the impacts that it would be impossible to mitigate, with respect to the dams, especially large ones like Jirau, Santo Ant\u00f4nio<\/a>, Belo Monte, Teles Pires, and S\u00e3o Luiz do Tapaj\u00f3s,\u201d Cardoso said in an interview with IPS.<\/p>\n \u201cHow to measure and assess, for example, the destruction at Sete Quedas? How to evaluate the socio-environmental impact caused by thousands of migrants who will be drawn to the region by one of these large infrastructure works?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n She also said that an overall assessment was needed of the effects of the dams in general and the modifications of the territory \u201cin dense jungle zones which have extremely high concentrations of biodiversity, which has been preserved precisely because of the sparse, ecologically friendly population of traditional peoples,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Cardoso said the environmental licensing process has a limited capacity to obtain a realistic evaluation of costs and impacts of hydropower dams in the Amazon region.<\/p>\n