Sting voices opposition to Amazon dam in Brazil

"All of the reasons I fought against it 20 years ago are still there. It will destroy an entire river system and destroy the lives and culture of the people who live there and have lived there for thousands of years," said Sting, who was in Venezuela for a concert.

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Belo Monte is Not a Done Deal

Belo Monte Dam is by no means an inevitability, despite what the Brazilian government and the companies promoting the dam would like you to believe. Legal actions, protests and occupations by indigenous groups, and a growing international campaign could derail the project.

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Contact the Brazilian Embassy to Stop Belo Monte Dam!

The dam would devastate an extensive area of the Amazon rainforest and threaten the survival of thousands of indigenous and traditional peoples who depend on the Xingu River for their livelihoods. Construction could begin this year.

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In Earth Day setback, Brazil OKs dam that will flood swath of Amazon

Damage to the environment is also a major issue. The Xingu river basin has about four times as many species of fish as the whole of Europe, but the work will kill millions of animals and threaten extinction for some species, said Hermes Medeiros, a local ecologist on the review board.

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Indians to occupy dam site

Indigenous groups will occupy an area where the government wants to build a controversial hydroelectric dam projected to be the world's third-largest, an Indian chief said Wednesday.

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Brazil awards contract for Belo Monte dam to Norte Energia consortium

The Brazilian energy regulator has awarded the contract to build the 11GW Belo Monte dam on a tributary of the Amazon rainforest, to Norte Energia, a consortium of nine companies, including state energy company Electrobras’s subsidiary Chesf. The project is extremely controversial, as up to 20,000 people, including 800 native Indians will be displaced, as it will flood 400km2 of rainforest.

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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.

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Video footage from James Cameron's trip to the Amazon

James Cameron and Avatar cast members Sigourney Weaver and Joel David Moore return to the Xingu river and speak out against the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil.

Photo courtesy of Atossa Soltani/Amazon Watch

Belo Monte dam one among over 70 planned for Amazon

A group called Amazon Watch said in a statement that, "This dam is one of the most destructive projects ever undertaken in the Amazon."

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Judge allows start of bids on controversial Brazil dam

A Brazilian court has overturned a ruling that could have delayed building a massive dam on an Amazon tributary.

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Amazon defenders win bid to stall huge dam project

Actress Sigourney Weaver, who starred in "Avatar" and traveled with Cameron to Brazil, welcomed the dam delay. But she warned of a long fight ahead.

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'Avatar' director lauds ruling on Brazilian dam

"It's a small victory for us, but I don't expect the battle is over," Cameron told The Associated Press by telephone from the small Amazon city of Altamira, where he was lending support to project opponents.

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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.

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Avatar director James Cameron speaks out against Belo Monte dam

A real-life Avatar conflict is playing out in the Brazilian Amazon as indigenous groups fight against the construction of a giant hydroelectric dam in the heart of the rainforest, the Oscar-winning director James Cameron has warned.

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Letter from James Cameron to President Lula of Brazil about the Belo Monte Dam project

You have a great opportunity, as a world leader, to take decisive action in the immediate short-term to demonstrate Brazil's commitment to these vital issues. I am referring to the Belo Monte Dam project, which will undergo bidding on April 20. I believe strongly that this project should not go forward, and I appeal to you on the basis of logic and compassion, to intercede to prevent its progress.

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Belo Monte Dam May Operate at 40% of Capacity, Estado Says

Since the Belo Monte project has no artificial reservoir, power generation will vary according to the rain cycle in the Xingu river, where it will be located, Estado reported. During the dry season, the dam will produce less than 3,000 megawatts, the newspaper said.

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Tribes of Amazon Find an Ally Out of ‘Avatar’

Mr. Cameron said that he was writing a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urging him to reconsider the dam and that he would press for a meeting with the president. “They need to listen to these people here,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Atossa Soltani/Amazon Watch

If it must, Brazil will build Belo Monte dam alone

Brazil's government will itself build the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon region if no private firms bid for the project, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday.

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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.

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Two Brazil companies pull out of Belo Monte auction

The decision by the Camargo Correa and Odebrecht construction groups dents government hopes for a competitive auction that would push down the price of energy production at the planned 11,000-megawatt project.

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