NGOs denounce Tapajós basin intimidation, violence, Brazil inaction

A Munduruku indigenous woman. The Munduruku are historically known for their fierceness, and they have taken a strong position in opposition to what they see as gross injustices committed in connection with the construction of dams on the Teles Pires River. Photo by Mauricio Torres Thirty-eight national and international NGOs issued a strongly worded statement on 23 March demanding the Brazilian government uphold environmental laws, act on indigenous rights violations, and end escalating intimidation by the builders of hydroelectric dams on the Teles Pires River. Also condemned was the Temer administration’s failure to prosecute illegal loggers and gold miners threatening violence against Tapajós River riverine communities. The Teles Pires River is one of two major Tapajós tributaries in an extremely biodiverse region. The government shifted its ambitious Amazon basin dam-building effort to the Teles Pires in 2011, constructing four dams there (the São Manoel, Teles Pires, Sinop, and Colider dams). It intended to build a much larger one – the São Luiz do Tapajós — on the Tapajós River itself, but has been prevented so far by indigenous resistance, a funding shortage, and growing doubts among national officials about the viability of big hydroelectric dams. In their statement, the 38 NGOs (which include Amazon Watch, ISA (Instituto Socioambiental) and WWF Brasil) say that since 2011 the Kayabi, Apiaka and Munduruku indigenous groups, along with traditional riverine communities, have suffered serious social and environmental impacts from the Teles Pires dams, which were built in violation of Brazil’s laws. The NGOs focus…

from Conservation news https://ift.tt/2Gxzb07
via IFTTT