By Chris Lang, 26th May 2010
With apologies for stating the bleeding obvious: If REDD is going to work, it has to reduce deforestation. It also has to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. So why is Brazil, which claims to be serious about stopping deforestation, planning to build the world’s third largest hydropower dam? The Belo Monte dam is planned to be built on the Xingu River and would result in the eviction of tens of thousands of Indigenous Peoples.
As the World Rainforest Movement points out in the article below, Norway is playing a bizarre double role in Brazil. The Norwegian government is the biggest donor to the Amazon Fund, which is all about conserving the Amazon. Meanwhile, the Norwegian state-owned company Norsk-Hydro is expanding its aluminium production operations in Brazil – an industry that requires large amounts of electricity. “What one hand gives, the other taketh away,” writes International River’s Zachary Hurwitz, “while Norway buys green credibility by donating to the Amazon Fund, it also invests in aluminum production at some of the dirtiest mines in the entire world.”
The Amazon is, of course, a big place. It may be possible to build a dam, no matter how destructive, and still achieve reduced deforestation targets simply by reducing deforestation elsewhere in the country. However, it is not possible to build the Belo Monte dam without bulldozing Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Hurwitz notes that “With the possible approval of a law that would allow for hydroelectric dams and mining on indigenous and protected lands, Belo Monte will be just the first in this next phase of Amazonian destruction.”
With apologies for stating the bleeding obvious: If REDD is going to work, it has to reduce deforestation. It also has to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. So why is Brazil, which claims to be serious about stopping deforestation, planning to build the world’s third largest hydropower dam? The Belo Monte dam is planned to be built on the Xingu River and would result in the eviction of tens of thousands of Indigenous Peoples.
As the World Rainforest Movement points out in the article below, Norway is playing a bizarre double role in Brazil. The Norwegian government is the biggest donor to the Amazon Fund, which is all about conserving the Amazon. Meanwhile, the Norwegian state-owned company Norsk-Hydro is expanding its aluminium production operations in Brazil – an industry that requires large amounts of electricity. “What one hand gives, the other taketh away,” writes International River’s Zachary Hurwitz, “while Norway buys green credibility by donating to the Amazon Fund, it also invests in aluminum production at some of the dirtiest mines in the entire world.”
The Amazon is, of course, a big place. It may be possible to build a dam, no matter how destructive, and still achieve reduced deforestation targets simply by reducing deforestation elsewhere in the country. However, it is not possible to build the Belo Monte dam without bulldozing Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Hurwitz notes that “With the possible approval of a law that would allow for hydroelectric dams and mining on indigenous and protected lands, Belo Monte will be just the first in this next phase of Amazonian destruction.”
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