URGENT ACTIONS

Brazil: Construction of Dam will affect approximately 20,000 people

CASES

OPEN LETTERS

More than 5,000 peasant families, approximately 20,000 people, amongst them rural workers, Afro-Brazilians and indigenous people, will be affected by the construction of the Estreito dam, on the River Tocantins, between the municipalities of Estreito and Aguiarnópolis. The destruction will extend to the municipalities of Aguiarnópolis, Babaçulândia, Barra do Ouro, Darcinópolis, Filadélfia, Goiatins, Itapiratins, Palmeiras do Tocantins, Palmeirante e Tupiratins, in the state Tocantins, and Carolina and Estreito, in the state of Maranhão. Beyond the impacts on the families, who will be deprived of their access to land, the Estreito dam will provoke irreversible social, environmental and scenic alterations. Such impacts will harm the development of the ecological tourism in the region, one of the best economic alternatives for the local population.

Profile

The Estreito dam is planned for a total power of 1,109.7 MW. Its reservoir will flood 434 km². The companies within CESTE (Consórcio Estreito Energia), in which TRACTEBEL is the largest  shareholder, in partnership with other private companies (ALCOA, BHP Billiton, Votorantim and Vale do Rio Doce), have played a scandalous role with the purpose  of obtaining from the IBAMA the license for the construction of the Estreito dam. The construction of this dam will evict thousands of people from their lands, causing the displacement of  over 5,000 families, some 20,000 persons. It will also provoke irreversible social, environmental and scenic damage.
The current biological imbalance in the fauna due to previous constructions of dams on the river Tocantins will worsen, since the interference in the reproduction cycle of fish will increase and the diversity of fish species used by the indigenous communities to feed themselves will diminish. The entrepreneurs themselves recognize that there will be changes in the water quality and in the climatic conditions of the region, which has a direct impact on the farming activities and puts an end to the ritual culture of the Krahô indigenous people in Bacuri, Rio Vermelho and Krintu, living on the banks of Rio Vermelho , an affluent to the river Manuel Alves Grande. Moreover there will be a direct interference with the cultural practices of the communities, due to the severe reduction of fish species, as, for example, the Tep Arkwá or the Tep Teré, used to supply the main popular festivities.  For all these reasons, the construction of the dam will mean the violation of the right of these peoples to adequate food, recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In addition, the pressure on the indigenous lands of the Krahô and Apinajéwill increase, as many workers will come to the region to work in the construction. This will lead to an increase in illegal occupations and hunting in these areas, thus harming the integrity of the community and its natural resources. Moreover, the extended contact with non-indigenous persons resulting from the flow of workers coming to the region will account for a higher number of illnesses, also sexually transmissible illnesses.
Besides exerting pressure on the indigenous areas and on the biodiversity of the cerrado (open pasture areas of transition to the Amazonian forest), this large project will also render futile the efforts of current projects developing a sustainable exploitation of the natural resources in the cerrado. The communities and organizations involved are preparing economic, job creation and income alternatives for the "peoples of the  cerrado" –indigenous people and small producers–, thus contributing to the environmental conservation to the creation of a new development model, non-predatory and sustainable. In addition, alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, tidal and geothermal energies, or biomass energy (biogas of sugar cane, straw of rice, gasification of wood, of domestic garbage, among others) should become a strategic alternative at a short and medium term, in order to have renewable and sustainable energy options without adverse social impacts.

The mandate of FIAN

In the light of the facts above mentioned, FIAN emphasizes that the Brazilian State assumed the international legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the human right to feed oneself. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Brazil is a State Party, establishes that the authorities have the obligation to respect and protect the right of the indigenous communities and peasant groups to access land. The ancestral lands of indigenous groups are protected under ILO conventions. There is a threat of massive violations if the Estreito dam is constructed.

Call to Action

Please, send this letter to the President of the IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and the Natural Renewed Resources), Marcus Barroso Barros, as soon as possible, with a copy to the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva. Please inform the Land Commission of Araguaia Tocantins, too.

URGENT ACTION 0511HBRA