Belo Monte: 12 questions without answers

Indigenous peoples were not adequately heard. Greenhouse gas emissions could be underestimated. Certain conditions set by IBAMA will only be checked years after completion of the plant.

Photo courtesy of International Rivers/Flickr

Brazil suspends Amazon dam project targeted by Avatar director

A Brazilian judge on Wednesday suspended the preliminary license for the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, a controversial project in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, citing "danger of irreparable harm," reports the Amazon Watch, an NGO that has been campaigning on the issue.

Photo courtesy of stephenk1977/Flickr

Brazil AG Office to Oppose Controversial Dam Project

The project would involve diverting a 100-kilometer (62-mile) stretch of the Xingu river, an Amazon tributary, and directly affect 12,000 families, including residents of two indigenous hamlets whose survival would depend on the dam operator providing them excess water from the reservoir.

Photo courtesy of gustav_kra/Flickr

A Brazilian Movement Appeals to the UN to Stop the Amazon's Belo Monte Dam

Delivered to the United Nations last Thursday, April 1st, a document claims that flaws in the environmental licensing process for the controversial Belo Monte Dam in Brazil were overlooked due to political pressure from the Lula administration.

Photo courtesy of Thiago Teixeira/REUTERS

Six-million-dollar fine for destroying Amazon rainforest

A farmer in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso was fined 6.15 million dollars for destroying 2,234 hectares of the Amazon rainforest, Brazilian authorities said Monday.

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Auction date set for Belo Monte hydro project in Brazil

An auction to sell the rights to build and operate the Belo Monte hydroelectric project in Brazil's Amazon will take place on April 20, the Mines and Energy Ministry reported.

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Shame on Brazil: Stop the Amazon Mega-Dam Project Belo Monte

As you are aware, the Belo Monte dam will inundate some 500 square km of land, and divert nearly the entire flow of the Xingu through two artificial canals to the dam's powerhouse. This alone will leave Indigenous and traditional communities along a 130 km stretch of the Volta Grande without water, fish, or a means of river transport.

Photo courtesy of stephenk1977/Flickr

Brazil: Don't Shove Belo Monte Down Our Throats!

Meanwhile, Amazon defender and Green Party candidate Marina Silva, running 8% in polls, has criticized Belo Monte for lacking a coherent socio-environmental plan to support the people of the Xingú. Yet both front runners – Serra and Rousseff – have a strong interest in building Belo Monte and many more mega-dams in the Amazon to keep hydroelectricity profits flowing into industry and government coffers.

Photo courtesy of Rogério Costa/Flickr

Criticism Mounts over the Brazilian Government's Licensing of the Destructive Belo Monte Dam

The massive project, slated to be the world's third largest, would divert the flow of the Xingu River and devastate an extensive area of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, threatening the survival of indigenous peoples.

Photo courtesy of Andrew White/Flickr

Brazil moves to cut Amazon destruction by ranchers

Brazil took a step forward in protecting the Amazon rainforest on Wednesday, starting satellite surveillance of the cattle ranches that are among the chief culprits in the forest's destruction.

[Photograph by: leoffreitas]

Starting with monitoring

Nevertheless, the monitoring system, both Deter and Prodes, is crucial in Brazil's efforts to scale back deforestation.

[Photograph by: leoffreitas]