Brazil Suspends Belo Monte Dam!

[CanadaPleco]

WOW, fantastic news - http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/5288

Here is a copy and paste from an email I just got from International Rivers

Good news! A judge in Brazil just suspended the Belo Monte Dam!

Yesterday a Federal Court ordered the suspension of Belo Monte's provisional environmental license and the cancellation of next Tuesday's bidding process in response to an action filed by Brazil's Federal Attorneys. This is a huge victory for the campaign.

Read my new blog for a full update on Belo Monte Dam.

This is just the most recent in a series of positive events in the past couple of weeks for the campaign to stop the massive Belo Monte Dam on the Amazon's Xingu River.

Last Monday, James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver lent their star power to the campaign, joining a protest of more than 700 dam-affected and indigenous people in Brasilia to demand cancellation of Belo Monte. James Cameron said he was being "drawn into a situation where a real-life Avatar confrontation is in progress. What's happening in Avatar is happening in Brazil and places like India and China, where traditional villages are displaced by big infrastructure projects."

Read my blog to learn more and see photos from the protest.

As sure as the Xingu is flowing, momentum is building in the campaign. Thanks for your continued support. We'll let you know soon how you can help keep the Xingu River flowing freely.

[andywoolloo]

wow. incredible.

[Gordon C. Snelling]

Good news indeed but i find myself wondering how long it is before someone makes this judge an "offer he cant refuse"

[grokefish]

How cool is that!

[wrasse]

That's fantastic news!

You don't mess with Sigourney Weaver... 'get away from her, you bitch!!!'

[Janne]

Not so much Sigourney Weaver but a lot of work made by Brazilian opponents to the Belo Monte project, the resistant against this project in Brazil is very large, international pressure is of course of highly importance.

Janne

[DJ-don]

YES

but does suspend mean as its called off for a few more months years etc. like a sports suspension? or like totally cancelled?

[Janne]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... &start=120

Janne

[davidkozak]

I just saw a short story on today's news saying exactly the opposite. That the way was now clear to proceed with bidding on the project. The blurb with James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver made a nice news story,(not to mention it was great promotion for his movie coming out on dvd this month) but people forget pretty quickly after the celebrities climb back on their private jet and go home. David

[MatsP]

I just saw a short story on today's news saying exactly the opposite.

Yes, the next level up federal court overruled the judgement of the lower federal court.

The fact that it makes the news is a good thing.

--
Mats

[Mike_Noren]

Yes, the next level up federal court overruled the judgement of the lower federal court.

I've been trying to find the statements of the respective courts to see why the first court stopped construction and the federal judge overturned it.

However, I do find dark amusement in that apparently the government filed the petition to overturn the lower court decision to the federal judge; the federal judge read the many thousand pages of documentation accumulated in this 25 year long legal battle; read the legally binding international treaties on the rights of indigenous people and on the preservation of biodiversity; checked the precedents; and issued a ruling overturning a lower court;
all in ONE DAY.

I don't think our Swedish judges would even revoke a wrongful parking ticket in one day, I'm pretty sure they'd take quite a bit longer when the issue concerned moving some 20 000 people, indigenous people's rights, extinguishing a dozen or so endemic species, and possible government corruption.

The fact that it makes the news is a good thing.

Yes. A welcome change from how it's been.

[grokefish]

Very good point.

[DJ-don]

I sound really stupid here
but i don't really get it

was it the lower court who was overruled by the higher one to stop construction or did the lower court decided to suspend it and the higher one overruling that?

and if the second one is right why did some of you guys say that was a good thing??

i'm just really confused of the situation thats all

[MatsP]

The lower court said "Stop, you haven't done your impact analysis correctly" and the higher court said "No, don't stop, it's important that we continue for the economy".

It's a good thing it got stopped, even if the higher court said to go ahead, because it increases the level of doubt for a construction company - it may well be that an even higher level court agrees with the one at the lower level - or another judge, in a different matter gets some technicality that can't be ignored to stop the project.

--
Mats

[DJ-don]

The lower court said "Stop, you haven't done your impact analysis correctly" and the higher court said "No, don't stop, it's important that we continue for the economy".

It's a good thing it got stopped, even if the higher court said to go ahead, because it increases the level of doubt for a construction company - it may well be that an even higher level court agrees with the one at the lower level - or another judge, in a different matter gets some technicality that can't be ignored to stop the project.

--
Mats

Ahh ok that makes so much sense now!!

btw how many "courts" are there in brazil?

[Mike_Noren]

The lower court said "Stop, you haven't done your impact analysis correctly" and the higher court said "No, don't stop, it's important that we continue for the economy".

"Good for the economy" isn't even a legal argument. Are the verdicts available somewhere so I can read them?

[Suckermouth]

The lower court said "Stop, you haven't done your impact analysis correctly" and the higher court said "No, don't stop, it's important that we continue for the economy".

It's a good thing it got stopped, even if the higher court said to go ahead, because it increases the level of doubt for a construction company - it may well be that an even higher level court agrees with the one at the lower level - or another judge, in a different matter gets some technicality that can't be ignored to stop the project.

--
Mats

Ahh ok that makes so much sense now!!

btw how many "courts" are there in brazil?

I think the lower court was for the state while the higher court was for the country (ie. in the capital of Brazil, Brasilia). Thus I assume Brazil has a court in each state at least.

[apistomaster]

Who would have ever anticipated that this project would be news worthy of the New york Times publishing an article?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/world ... ef=science
It is amazing how quickly this project has gone from being primarily of concern of fish keepers. We have had discussions on this board for years. Simplydiscus.com only began discussing it recently. But now it has gone mainstream.

[DJ-don]

I think the lower court was for the state while the higher court was for the country (ie. in the capital of Brazil, Brasilia). Thus I assume Brazil has a court in each state at least.

Doesn't that mean there isn't a court higher than the one in Brasilia?
And I would guess the only higher court would be the government?

[Mike_Noren]

It's interesting that these news stories never, even in passing, mention the endemic species likely to go extinct - I'd say it's a direct result of the lack of a species list and, IMO, the intentional lack of knowledge of aquatic biodiversity of these rivers.

[racoll]

It's interesting that these news stories never, even in passing, mention the endemic species likely to go extinct - I'd say it's a direct result of the lack of a species list and, IMO, the intentional lack of knowledge of aquatic biodiversity of these rivers.

It's shocking. I would expect there to be even more endemics than we are aware of, as only the attractive/desirable species will be ignored. What about the little plain chacacins etc.

Seeing as we seem to be the only people aware of this, how can we get the word circulated? Now seems like the appropriate time.

Is there even a ballpark list of morphospecies?

[Mike_Noren]

Seeing as we seem to be the only people aware of this, how can we get the word circulated? Now seems like the appropriate time.

I'd suggest mailing every environmental organization you can think of. They're still not really aware that anything but the livelihood of the native population is at stake here.

Is there even a ballpark list of morphospecies?

Janne is on the spot and may know of such a list, but I do not.

I did a quick check of FishBase and it might be possible to generate a skeleton list of described species, though it will be enormously incomplete (I found a total of 49 species, a ridiculously low number). However, even this cursory search revealed that at least these described species...
Teleocichla centisquama
Aequidens michaeli
Hypancistrus zebra
Ossubtus xinguense
...are known from no other place in the world than the area which will be worst impacted by the dam.

EDIT: It seems the frog Allobates crombiei also is endemic to the same area. If extinguishing a number of fish species isn't newsworthy, perhaps extinguishing a frog is.

[MatsP]

It's interesting that these news stories never, even in passing, mention the endemic species likely to go extinct - I'd say it's a direct result of the lack of a species list and, IMO, the intentional lack of knowledge of aquatic biodiversity of these rivers.

I agree. And I have, in more than one "comment" on various papers pointed out that "it will make extinct many species of fish", but most of these comments don't even get published - I'm not sure why, when my "flippant" comments like "Why does McDonalds sponsoring Avatar have anything to do with James Cameron protesting against the dam?"

--
Mats

[Janne]

I have a list of species from a study made by the university here, I think I have sent that to you Mike for a year or so back. The list contains of ~460-480 species with an estimation of at least that 600 species occur in Rio Xingu with tributaries and my own estimation is little higher than that... 700-800 species, of these are at least the minimum of 100 species endemic. One of the main problem and that is the same in all list of fish species here in South America are that they frequently use the wrong scientific name for many species, either are they not yet described or it's another described species... but they do show a great part of the biodiversity.

I can try to get hold of studies made for the terrestrial life including Amphibians and reptiles... shall I try to get a study made for insects too... suddenly we maybe reach thousands of endemic species ;)
In fact and that is quite sad really, the whole Rio Xingu valley is really extremely poor investigated... it's a paradise for everyone that have the slightest feeling for mother nature.

If anyone wants the study of fishes in Rio Xingu, send me a pm... I just need to find it among all others.

Janne

[bronzefry]

The indiginous peoples are important. We are fish geeks. Fish are important to us.

I want to know who bids on this foolish thing and who low-balls it at what insane, unrealistic price. Or, if it goes the other way........that's allllllways fun!
Amanda

[CanadaPleco]

Update:

And then last night, at the 11th hour, a new injunction was issued and the auction delayed again! Still, the Brazilian government is trying to push through their plan to auction the Belo Monte Dam project to private investors as early as this afternoon. All over Brazil, thousands of people are in the streets today protesting against the project.

[Janne]

And all it's about is the government's prestige.

Janne

[Suckermouth]

The auction doesn't look like it's going to matter all that much, Brazil wants to build it with or without investors.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN0820329520100408

If it must, Brazil will build Belo Monte dam alone
Thu Apr 8, 2010 8:57pm BST

BRASILIA, April 8 (Reuters) - 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.

The 11,000 megawatt dam, to be constructed on the Xingu River in the state of Para, is expected to cost around 20 billion reais ($11.2 billion). It would be the world's third-biggest power plant and help Brazil meet soaring energy demand.

Two major local infrastructure companies said on Wednesday they would not take part in bidding for the construction of the giant dam in the Amazon rain forest, because it was not financially viable under the conditions of the auction. [ID:nN07140630]

But Lula told reporters on Thursday the government would press ahead with the project, with or without a private company to take it on.

"It's important to be loud and clear about this -- we will build Belo Monte with or without them," he said. (Reporting by Natuza Nery; Writing by Peter Murphy; Editing by Raymond Colitt and Jim Marshall)

[Mike_Noren]

And all it's about is the government's prestige.

I think you're too kind. I think it's all about transferring taxpayer money to private bank accounts.

[Janne]

They can't build the dam without private investors and companies, they just don't have the competence... that was the most stupid statement I have ever heard in my whole life... and I have heard a lot.

Mike,
You may be right.

Janne