Volunteer in the Amazon in 2017

 

                               

Volunteer Programme

Introduction

   

For volunteers we expect to have regular Skype meetings to explain the operation of our work, to prepare candidates for the trip and to put them in touch with the projects that are being worked out during the meetings.

The Volunteer team will stay in the communities for 4 weeks or more.

Volunteers should arrive 5 days before the departure to the communities to receive a condensed training and be prepared for the initiative in the communities, and if possible stay together with their Bolivi felanlows for the whole period.

They should fly to La Paz, Bolivia, from there our team will depart by bus and boat to the communities on the route to Rurrenbaque on the river Beni. The coordination team will pick up the international participants from La Paz Airport.

Initial accommodation will be in Rurrenbaque, then stay with the Moseten, the Tsimane from Pilón Lajas, the Uchupiamona from San Jose and the Tacana from San Miguel del Bala, seeing first hand their challenges and planning how we can help empower these communities.

·        

      All are basic and simple but we always make it clean and decent. We usually sleep in hammocks with mosquito nets. The temperature is usually warm (around 28°C) but might be low as low at night as 15°C during the Amazonian cold season. We travel by boat during the stay in the communities. We also buy fresh fish from the community fisherman. The volunteers organize themselves to run the kitchen and the other activities of the lodge, and will be separated into teams with different tasks every day, from household chores to preparing breakfast or cooking the dinner.

  

What participants will gain from the experience:

They will come to understand deeply the present Amazonian situation and the traditional Amazonian community reality. They will be introduced to the search for the kind of development that helps to leave the forest standing, based on sustainable livelihoods, with traditional community lifestyles as one of the key elements.

They will work with the teams involved in projects related to health, income generation and education, and related issues. They will have the opportunity add their own specific skills to the teams’ work and support the communities in this way. Participating in the multidisciplinary teams coordinated by a veteran member of our NGO, working on initiatives in an absolutely collaborative environment is inevitably a very rich life experience.

We hope that this deep understanding and engagement with what is going on in the Amazon will make participants into multipliers in their homelands of field-based information concerning the rainforest situation. We will do our utmost to open up future possibilities for participants where they might be inspired to engage in social and environmental related development work in the Amazon region, or at least become supporters of this work.

             

There is no fee for this placement in this project, only voluntary contribution: All proceeds go to DPA to finance initiatives. All DPA personnel are volunteers.

24 Hours with DPA

7.00 wake up

7.30 breakfast

8.00-11.00 field activity

11.00- 12.00 lodge tasks

12.00 13.00 lunch

13.00 15.00 break (siesta)

15.00 18.00 field activity

18.00-19.00 lodge tasks
19.00 dinner

Field activities

These vary depending on the project to be executed during the training period. For example, dentists would do their own work; participants working with the brazil nut collectors might also sometimes make family visits. On other days manual physical work could be needed to help establish the small scale factory; other days might concern coordinating the first days of non-timber forest product production. Virtually all participant skills are useful and welcome, to be put to use with the communities. As DPA depends on volunteers, most of whom are PhD students from international universities, each project will depend to some extent on who is volunteering in each period.

Health advice

There is a danger of malaria in the area. Yellow fever vaccination is recommended, malaria tablets optional. Mosquito nets are necessary. Each community usually a clinic for immediate medical attention. Sometimes warm clothing is needed (trousers and sweater) as temperature can be cool in the high Amazon.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the organization, people of any professional areas, identifying with the mission of DPA, our principles and objectives can participate from multidisciplinary areas of knowledge such as:biology, education, forestry engineering, communication, social sciences, social work, psychology, medicine, dentistry, nursing, physical therapy, production engineering, environmental education and management, and the arts, among many others. 

 Our aim is for participants undergoing training to be sensitised to act in a positive manner in the Amazon region or to become multipliers of the Amazon environmental causes and integrate in their personal and professional lives the learnings obtained.

About DAM PEOPLES AMAZON

It is a non-profit organisation working in the Bolivian and Brazilian Amazon region since with a mission to support and strengthen traditional communities situated in isolated areas of the Amazon forest, generally in protected areas where sustainable development is allowed. These populations are generally excluded from basic public services. DPA's activities in the region include helping to generate income derived from the standing forest and non-timber forest products, empowerment workshop to educate communities about their rights related to their traditional knowledge, habitats and livelihoods. 

 We are working to promote a new ‘development’ model that considers the welfare of forest and its inhabitants.  Often politicians and other decision makers take decisions based on the old paradigm of ‘progress’ that bring huge impact on the forest and its population, without realizing what the decision means. The Information we help to diffuse and the campagins and initiatives we undertake are gradually helping to change this scenario. 

People versus Parks -- Society for Conservation Biology Arguing Tropical Forest Conservation

To think that the Amazon forest can be conserved with parks, sanctuaries, forest guards and helicopters is simply to be unacquainted with our reality, or often worse: to be acquainted with it without understanding it. The controversy that is the topic of this exchange is not parks. We all agree that nature reserves with minimal human influence are an important component of any conservation strategy in any country. Rather, the point of controversy is how best to achieve a much broader, more comprehensive conservation of nature in a region such as Amazonia, where four-fifths of the forest are still standing. In this setting, it is counterproductive to insist that the only nature worth preserving is pristine, with no human influence, as some seem to be saying. To pursue this narrow interpretation of nature conservation is to ignore the scale and timing of human threats to this forest. By the end of the 1997-1998 El Ninio episode, for example, 1.5 million km2 of Amazon forest--a third of the forest remaining in Amazonia--was desiccated to the point of flammability. Most of the forest didn't catch fire because it is far from the agricultural frontier. With the paving of  4000 km of highway into the core region of Amazonia, large-scale forest burning will follow, as will 100,000-180,000 km2 of additional deforestation (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental na Amazonia and Instituto Socioambiental 2000; Nepstad et al. 2000). This scale of threat to Amazonia and other large tropical forest formations must frame our approach to conservation. 

Even if subsistence forest dwellers at low population densities deplete populations of game species and alter the species composition of forests over the course of generations, this form of forest impoverishment is innocuous compared with the realistic alternatives. If we give first priority to protection of areas we deem pristine--on the basis of a hypothetical "permanent protection" and at the expense of supporting the constituencies in and around forests with interests in using forest resources to secure areas large enough to perhaps change the trend--we may end up with nothing. Parks are not and will not be of a scale adequate to begin addressing the sweeping threats to Amazonia and other large tropical forests. Colchester offers an informed discussion on how indigenous and conservation interests converge in practice. Of our three critics, Chiccon claims to see problems in our generalizations but appears to support most all of our specific points, whereas Redford and Sander- son say they have already reached all of our conclusions that are true, and Terborgh holds to a different vision. 

 Our central difference comes down to differing understandings of the natural and social systems at issue in conservation. Some see the forest as a natural system that has over thousands of years attained a fragile equilibrium. It is in essence a finished product, and protection of it means maintaining stasis. Under this view, human occupation and human society are irrelevant as long as population is low and technology poor; otherwise, humans are noxious to pristine nature. Their solution, a park that keeps people out, is commensurate with their view of the forest: the ultimate end is to create it and see that it remains the same. Perhaps for this reason they tend to criticize indigenous and extractive (sustainable use) reserves as though the creation of these areas were of itself the goal. Archeological, ethnobotanical, and ethnohistoric studies, however, call into question this view of the Amazon and American forests more generally. Much of the Amazon was probably more densely populated before 1500 than at any time after until this century, or in some places until today. Large parts of the forest still show signs of indigenous management, both intensive and extensive or of resource depletion and possibly ecological crisis. Human occupation was significant, long-term, and lasting in effect--including increasing biodiversity locally. The "pristine" forest prized is in fact a recent artifact of the demographic collapse of indigenous populations after 1500 brought about by introduced diseases. Similarly outdated is the view of Amazon indigenous societies as small, simple, isolated, and unchanging. Not only were these societies historically more populous than imagined, they occupied the region for far longer and were in the millenium before 1500 socially more like the central American and Andean states than recent hunters and gatherers. They had extensive exchange and trade networks and were agents of a highly dynamic social, cultural, and linguistic diversity. This understanding of indigenous culture is much like a laundry list, a compen- dium of traits and practices. (We are indebted to anthropologist Terence Turner for this point.) These on contact with industrial-age people, are replaced by traits and practices that reflect our technology and our appetites--guns instead of bows and arrows, clothes instead of penis sheaths. Degradation of the environment is inevitable as our traits replace theirs. 

But rather than a static list of traits, culture is better understood as a people's collective ability to represent itself, to reproduce itself as a group, to forge a common and distinct identity. Change need not mean assimilation or unreflective substitution of their culture by ours. The emergence of indigenous organizations, the ethnic and cultural affirmations that everywhere accompany groups' territorial demands, and indigenous formulations of environmental concerns themselves are part of modern indigenous peoples' self-reinvention. There are excellent reasons for indigenous groups to seek sustainability in their own self-interest. But the "banner of conservation" is for indigenous populations "only a politically correct mask for a deeper issue," whereas "to place on the shoulders of relatively powerless forest dwellers the burden of stopping deforestation," is "at best unfair and at worst dangerous." There is the accusation of "speaking for the poor without showing that [we] actually do" and failing to "truly represent the populations [we] defend." In short, either the Indians and rural poor who claim environmental goals are prevaricating for the sake of political advantage, or we have put words in their mouths. 

Indigenous organizations claim these goals for themselves. If it is true that it is impossible to maintain the ecological integrity of large forests on indigenous and traditional peoples' territories, then it will likely be impossible to do so elsewhere on the frontier. So too is it unlikely that a few fragment/parks will conserve much biodiversity for long. In this sense, some underestimate the threat to the forest in imagining that U.S. style parks will survive in perpetuity in the absence of the ecosystem services provided by large expanses of native forest. It is a dangerous illusion to imagine that there is a choice between "turning over stewardship of valuable troves of unexploited natural resources to local people" and no-nonsense conservation. The forest is already inhabited, and protection of any more will depend on local people being able to achieve prosperity in and around it on a sustainable basis. Some take exception to our observation that evidence is sparse for species depletion on lands of indigenous and traditional peoples. Further examination of the literature reinforces our statement that no case of species extinction or severe depletion of large mammals has been reported from Amazonian indigenous or extractive reserves. A 2-year study of Parakanai hunting in Par'a was designed to test the hypothesis that "exploitation of fauna in its current form would not be sustainable over the long term..." and concluded that "the hypothesis [should].. be rejected." In Mbaracayu Ache reserve, Parguay, observed game harvest rates "are not likely to endanger any of the [hunted] species within the Mbaracayu reserve". Peres (2000a) finds that his study site in the Kayapo reserve in Par'a, in the immediate environs of a village, has a higher game biomass per square kilometer than five of his six unhunted sites and all but 2 of his 25-site sample. And all the sites were within a region where the Kayapo have hunted with guns for the last 50 years (Verswijver 1985). Martins (1993), who contrary to Redford & Sanderson's claim, did not conduct research in an extractive reserve, found some game populations reduced, unsurprising in a region continuously inhabited over the last 100 years. He failed to observe several species, although informants reported their presence. 

Peres (2000b) finds that vertebrate biomass declines with intensity of hunting as large-bodied mammals are removed. He also finds, however, that much of the variation in game biomass per square kilometer is accounted for by forest type. Furthermore, "overall community biomass at nonhunted sites... [is]virtually the same as that of lightly hunted sites." Indeed, Peres's argument turns largely on his categorization of hunting pressure as "light," "moderate," and "heavy." He notes that "reliable data on game harvest were not available." His methods of categorization are relatively subjective and unexplained, and his argument would benefit from clarification of this issue. Neither Peres's nor Martins's study looks at the more re- mote areas of indigenous or extractive reserves. Interfluves and areas beyond habitations more than about 15 km are not usually exploited in these areas because they are dis- tant and difficult to get to (and often full of wild ani- mals). (Peres conducted most of his nonhunted-area sur- veys in the Petrobras oil and gas fields, accessing clearings made by the oil company by small plane and helicop- ter.) The extensive interfluves in the 500,000-ha Alto Ju- rua extractive reserve, for example, are rarely visited (Almeida 1996) and may serve as game refuges. Many of the recent, impressive, and detailed surveys in indige- nous areas tend to look (for good logistical reasons) at speciflc hunted areas within reserves rather than at pop- ulations inside and outside the reserve (Bodmer & Puer- tas 2000; Leeuwenberg & Robinson 2000; Mena et al. 2000). The area not actively hunted in the 100,000-km2 Kayapo reserve, larger than Austria, with its <4000 in- habitants boggles the imagination. Comparing species composition within and outside of indigenous and extrac- tive reserves has to take some account of the size of the area protected by the reserve, and this has not been done. Does subsistence hunting by sparse populations of for- est dwellers lead to a cascade of local extinction events? The data that would allow us to respond to this ex- tremely important question are surprisingly scarce. Ter- borgh cites case studies from Wisconsin (Alverson et al. 1988), Maryland, Tennessee (Wilcove 1985), the chapar- rel of the western United States (Soule et al. 1988), Spain (Palomares et al. 1995), various North American loca- tions (Garrott et al. 1993), and his own observations in the Neotropics (Terborgh 1988, 1999) in arguing that the evidence for cascading extinctions is strong. In re- viewing the same evidence, Redford (1992) cites a case study from the desert of the southwestern United States (Brown & t4eske 1990) and states that "such clear-cut cases are not known from Neotropical areas." Dirzo and Miranda (1991) have demonstrated that when hunters extirpate game species in Mexico, seed and seedling predation declines and the forest floor becomes car- peted with tree seedlings, with important long-term im- plications for tree species composition. We agree with Terborgh that the extirpation of top predators probably affects many other species in tropical forests, particu- larly in fragmented landscapes such as those that were the focus of the studies he cites. But there is insufficient evidence to state that this extirpation will affect the ma- jority of tropical forest species, which are invertebrates and plants. More important for the present debate, the evidence that subsistence hunting by sparse populations of forest dwellers will drive any species to local extinc- tion is simply not available. Both Terborgh and Redford & Sanderson apparently agree with our statement that such species alterations, should they occur, would not affect the numerous higher-level criteria of tropical for- est integrity, such as forest vulnerability to fire, fertility of forest soils, forest carbon content, or the role of tropi- cal forests in regional hydrological and climate systems. There are also a number of factual misconceptions in Terborgh and Redford & Sanderson's comments which have important implications. Terborgh claims that extrac- tive reserves are impermanent and can be rescinded when conditions change. Extractive reserves are in fact created by presidential decree and can be altered by law (i.e., by the congress), just as is the case for all other fed- eral Brazilian conservation areas, including national parks. Redford & Sanderson hold that extractive reserves are "social, not ecological spaces." They are in reality both: "The Executive Branch will create extractive reserves i territories deemed of social and ecological interest" (Decreto No. 98.897, 30 de Janeiro de 1990). Communi- ties in a reserve contract long-term concession of use rights from the government to the reserve only when they have, through a representative organization, pre- sented a use plan for the area that complies with princi- ples of sustainability established in law and that can be rescinded in the event of environmental damages. As Carneiro da Cunha and Almneida have aptly put it, tradi- tional (but not indigenous) populations are in a legal sense parties to a pact with the nation: in exchange for land and other rights, they agree to practice sustainable use of natural resources (Carneiro da Cunha & Almeida 1999). Far from giving local people "the sole responsibil- ity of the political viability of protected areas" (Chiccon; Redford & Sanderson), the reserves in the first instance re- move a key obstacle to their empowerment by resolving land conflicts and guaranteeing security of tenure. Redford has long maintained that he seeks only to make realistic collaboration between indigenous peo- ples and conservationists possible by dispelling illusions and clarifying where goals diverge (Redford & Stearman 1993). He resurrects the venerable stalking horse of the "ecologically noble savage," charging that we treat for- est residents as "homogeneously good." But we have only observed that forest peoples' organizations and rep- resentatives are important political actors, in what is af- ter all a political process, and that effective alliance re- quires the allies to recognize one another's legitimacy. Terborgh in particular appears unaware that both extrac- tive reserves and indigenous lands belong to the nation: these are federal lands (in the case of indigenous lands, in- alienably) to which local groups have determinate use rights. The notion of "tuming valuable natural resources Conservation Biology Volume 14, No. 5, October 2000 This content downloaded from 165.193.178.76 on Sat, 26 Mar 2016 17:41:06 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Schwartzman et al. People versus Parks 1373 over" to local communities, conceived as similar to the U.S. Sagebrush Rebellion, is thus a wildly inaccurate analogy. Terborgh asks rhetorically how many readers have "been drawn to visit tribal reservations in the United States by the promise of seeing wildlife spectacles?" Those who fail to study history may indeed be doomed to repeat it. The great wildlife spectacles of the United States were driven to destruction by white settlers, not the Indi- ans-most notably the American bison (Bison bison), brought to the brink of extinction as a matter of public policy precisely in order to reduce the plains Indians to destitution and occupy their lands. This highly selective vision of the history of U.S. con- servation is more accurately described as nostalgic than backward-looking. Only through exceptional optimism- or deep pessimism-can a system that has 5% of the na- tion's native forests not protected be projected as a model for a forest half the size of the United States that is still at least 80% intact. Our vision is indeed different from Ter- borgh and Redford & Sanderson's. It starts with the effec- tive protection of native and traditional peoples' lands and builds on the dozens of local education, health, and economic projects that local leaders, professionals, and scientists have developed over the last 20 years that point the way to a better life for people in and around the forest. We emphasize continual dialogue, experimen- tation, support for unions, associations, and other grass- roots groups that seek sustainable family agriculture, and support for environmental political leaders such as those in the Amazon. We propose to continue and ex- pand dialogue with all actors on issues of common con- cern, such as fire prevention. We see the creation of glo- bal and national means to compensate forest communities and governments for the ecosystem services of the forest as a critical priority. The creation and protection of indige- nous areas and extractive reserves, and indeed ensuring tenure security for small farmers, are not, like the creation of a park, the end of a process, but the begining. Literature Cited Albert, B. 1997. Territorialite, enthopolitique et developpement: a pro- pos du movement indien en Amazonie Bresilienne. Cahiers des Ameriques Latines 23:177-209. Almeida, M. 1996. The management of conservation areas by tradi- tional populations: the case of the Upper Jurua extractive reserve. Pages 137-157 in K. H. Redford and J. A. Mansour, editors. Tradi- tional peoples and biodiversity conservation in large tropical land- scapes. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia. Alverson, W. S., D. M. Wailer, and S. L. Solheim. 1988. Forests too deer: edge effects in northern Wisconsin. Conservation Biology 2:348-358. Balee, W. 1994. Footprints of the forest: Kaapor ethnobotany: the his- torical ecology of plant utilization by an Amazonian people. Colum- bia University Press, New York Bodmer, R., and P. E. Puertas. 2000. Community-based comanagement of wildlife in Peruvian Amazon. Pages 395-409 in J. G. Robinson and E. L. Bennett, editors. Hunting for sustainability in tropical for- ests. Columbia University Press, New York. Brown, J. H., and E. J. Heske. 1990. Control of a desert-grassland transi- tion by a keystone rodent guild. Science 250:1705-1707. Carneiro da Cunha, M. 1992. Introducbo a uma hist6ria indigena. Pages 9-24 in M. Carneiro da Cunha, editor. Hist6ria dos Indios do Brasil. Companhia das Letras, Sao Paulo. Carneiro da Cunha, M., and M. Almeida. 1999. Populac6es tradicionais e conservacdo. Biodiversidade Amaz6nia: consulta 99. Instituto So- cioambiental, Sao Paulo. Available from http://www.socioambiental. org.br/ (accessed May 27, 2000). Cleary, D. 2000. Towards an environmental history of the Amazon: prehis- tory to the nineteenth century. Latin America Research Review 36:2. Conselho Nacional dos Seringueiros-Uniao das Naq6es Indigenas. 1989. II Econtro Nacional dos Seringueiros/I Encontro dos Povos da Floresta. Rio Branco, Acre. Coodinacion de las organizaciones indigenas de la cuenca Amaz6nica. 1989. For the future of the Amazon region. Quito, Ecuador. Denevan, W. 1992a. The pristine myth: the landscape of the Americas in 1492. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 52:369-385. Denevan, W. 1992b. The aboriginal population of Amazonia. Pages 205-234 in W. Denevan, editor. The Native Population of the Amer- icas in 1492. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. Dirzo, R., and A. Miranda. 1991. Altered patterns of herbivory and di- versity in the forest understory: a case study of the possible conse- quences of contemporary defaunation. Pages 273-287 in P. W. Price, T. M. Lewinsohn, G. W. Fernandes, and W. W. Benson, edi- tors. Plant-animal interactions: evolutionary ecology in tropical and temperate regions. Wiley, New York. Emidio-Silva, C. 1998. A caca de subsistencia praticada pelos indios Parakand (sudeste do Para): caracteristicas e sustentabilidade. M.S. thesis. Universidade Federal do Para, Belem, Parn. Garrott, R. A., P. J. White, and C. A. Vanderbilt White. 1993. Overabun- dance: an issue for conservation biologists? Conservation Biology 7:946-949. Hill, K., J. Padwe, C. Bejyvagi, A. Bepurangi, F. Jakugi, R. Tykuarangi, and T. Tykuarangi. 1997. Impact of hunting on large vertebrates in the Mbaracayu reserve, Paraguay. Conservation Biology 11:1339-1353. Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental na Amaz6nia and Instituto Socioambi- ental. 2000. Avanca Brasil: os custos ambientais para Amaz6nia. Available from http://www.ipam.br/ (accessed May 27, 2000). Leeuwenberg, F. J., and J. G. Robinson. 2000. Traditional management of hunting in a Xavante community in central Brazil: the search for sustainability. Pages 375-394 in J. G. Robinson and E. L. Bennett, editors. Hunting for sustainability in tropical forests. Columbia Uni- versity Press, New York. Martins, E. 1993. A caca de subsistencia de extrativistas na Amaz6nia: sustentabilidade, biodiversidade, ae extincbao de especies. M.S. the- sis. Universidade de Brasilia, Brasilia. Matos, A. de D. M. 1998. The ideas of Chico Mendes and the national council of rubber tappers. Pages 10-11 in S. Schwartzman, editor. From the ashes: reflections on Chico Mendes and the future of the rainforest. Enviornmental Defense Fund, Washington, D.C. Meggers, B. J. 1971. Amazonia: man and culture in a counterfeit para- dise. Aldine, Chicago. Mena, V. P., J. R. Stallings, J. Regaldo B., and R. Cueva L. 2000. The sus- tainability of current hunting practices by the Huaorani. Pages 57- 78 in J. G. Robinson and E. L. Bennett, editors. Hunting for sustain- ability in tropical forests. Columbia University Press, New York. Nepstad, D., G. Carvalho, A. C. Barros, A. Moreira, U. Lopes, P. Lefeb- vre, J. Cappobianco, and A. Alencar. 2000. Breaking the positive feedbacks between land use, forests and climate in the Amazon fire regime. Forest Ecology and Management: in press. Palomares, F., P. Gaona, P. Ferreras, and M. Debiles. 1995. Positive ef- fects on game species of top predators by controlling smaller pred- ator populations: an example with lynx, mongooses, and rabbits. Conservation Biology 9:295-305. Peres, C. A. 2000a. Effects of subsistence hunting on vertebrate commu- nity structure in Amazonian forests. Conservation Biology 14:240-253. Conservation Biology Volume 14, No. 5, October 2000 This content downloaded from 165.193.178.76 on Sat, 26 Mar 2016 17:41:06 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 1374 People versus Parks Scbwartzman etal. Peres, C. A. 2000b. Evaluating the sustainability of subsistence hunting at multiple Amazonian forest sites. Pages 31-56 in J. G. Robinson and E. L. Bennet, editors. Hunting for sustainability in tropical for- ests. Columbia University Press, New York. Redford, K. H. 1992. The empty forest. BioScience 42:412-422. Redford, K. H., and A. M. Stearman. 1993. Forest-dwelling native Ama- zonians and the conservation of biodiversity: interests in common or in collision? Conservation Biology 7:248-255. Roosevelt, A. C. 1993. The rise and fall of the Amazon chiefdoms. L'Homme 33:255-283. Roosevelt, A. C. 1994. Amazonian anthropology: strategy for a new syn- thesis. Pages 1-29 in A. C. Roosevelt, editor. Amazonian Indians: from prehistory to the present. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson. Smith, N. 1980. Anthrosols and human carrying capacity in Amazonia. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 70:553-566. Soule, M. E., E. T. Bolger, A. C. Alberts, J. Wright, M. Sorice, and S. Hill. 1988. Reconstructed dynamics of rapid extinctions of chaparral- requiring birds in urban habitat islands. Conservation Biology 2:75-92. Terborgh, J. 1988. The big things that run the world: a sequel to E. 0. Wilson. Conservation Biology 2:402-403. Terborgh, J. 1999. Requiem for nature. Island Press, Washington, D.C. Turner, T. 1993. De cosmologia a historia: reistencia, adaptaclio e con- sciencia social entre os Kayapo. Pages 43-66 in E. Viveiros de Castro and M. Carneiro da Cunha, editors. Amazonia: etnologia e hist6ria in- digena. Nucleo de Hist6ria Indigena e do Indigenismo, Sao Paulo. Urban, G. 1992. A hist6ria da cultura brasileira segundo as linguas nati- vas. Pages 87-102 in M. Carneiro da Cunha, editor. Hist6ria dos in- dios do Brasil. Companhia das Letras, Sio Paulo. Urban, G., andJ. Scherzer. 1991. Introduction: Indians, nation-states and culture. Pages 1-18 in G. Urban and J. Scherzer, editors. Nation- states and Indians in Latin America. University of Texas Press, Austin. Verswijver, G. 1985. Considerations on Mekraignoti warfare. Ph.D. the- sis. University of Ghent, Belgium. Whitehead, N. L. 1994. The ancient Amerindian polities of the Ama- zon, the Orinoco and the Atlantic coast: a preliminary analysis of their passage from antiquity to extinction. Pages 33-53 in A. C. Roosevelt, editor. Amazonian Indians: from prehistory to the present. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson. Wilcove, D. 1985. Nest predation in forest tracts and the decline of mi- gratory songbirds. Ecology 66:1211-1214. .;PM-. -a 7=P I-OIC, zbwlkl t Ni 144 oftal .w. I I 99&k% ------------ Conservation Biology Volume 14, No. 5, October 2000 This content downloaded from 165.193.178.76 on Sat, 26 Mar 2016 17:41:06 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Dams Conflicts

Fall 2010

ICE Case Studies

Number 230, December, 2010

Amazon Battle

Dams conflicts

by Olimar E. Maisonet-Guzman

• I. Case Background
• II. Environment Aspect
• III. Conflict Aspect
• IV. Env. - Conflict Overlap
• V. Related Information

I. CASE BACKGROUND

1. Abstract

This case study seeks to understand the links between climate change and environmental conflict by studying dam related conflicts in Brazil. The Belo Monte and the Madeira Dams have been subjected to criticism due to their negative impacts on indigenous populations of the Xingu and Madeira River. Celebrities such as James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver have lent their voices to fight against the imminent displacement of more than 30,000 indigenous people. The development of this dam projects is expected to create a 'gold rush' parallel, in which thousands of migrants will travel to these states seeking a better live. Social tension and conflict can arise between indigenous communities and new migrants due to competition over natural resources. Besides threatening the livelihood of indigenous communities, the projects also have significant negative impacts on the environment. This no-win situation or Kobayashi Maru implies that sacrifices are made to either the environment or to the indigenous tribe for the sake of green energy. Despite social and environmental consequences, dam development remains a popular option among policymakers that seek to increase energy supply by using renewable resources.

2. Description

The Amazon Basin has a long standing history of resource conflict. Indigenous tribes inhabited Brazil before 1500, when a Portuguese expedition led by Pedro Alvares Cabral swung too far westward and discovered the country. It is estimated that by this time there were 2,000 indigenous tribes in Brazil. Between the pursuit of Amazonian brazilwood and gold, non-native diseases and slavery; the indigenous populations of the Amazon were decimated. After a period alienation from urban development, the indigenous population reached some 200 tribes. However, their survival has been increasingly threatened over the last century. Indigenous tribes have been forced to protect their land from rubber-tappers, explorers and other peasant invaders. The Brazilian Government responded by taking an even more favorable position toward economic growth. Economic growth often comes at the expense of natural resources. In the case of the Amazon, a serious threat comes in the form of dam creation.

Anthropogenic factors such as population growth and economic development are the main drivers behind an increasing demand for energy in the Amazon region. Efforts to meet previous demands for fossil fuel by developing countries led to substantial damage to the atmosphere and are principally responsible for the current environmental degradation. As a response to unsustainable development, States created the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which defines climate change governance. However, the framework still protects a state's own right for economic growth. There is an obvious link between energy and economic growth. When the energy demand is addressed through the lens of climate change governance, it is transformed to sustainable energy or 'green energy' which often motivates the construction of dams. Although green energy sounds like a great idea, States rarely consider potential social consequences when developing these projects.

Nations such as Brazil are proposing the construction of dams as a response to the increasing energy and water demands of their growing populations. Among industrialized countries, Brazil is one of the most dependent on hydro-electricity. Most of this power comes from around 600 dams (WCD, 2000). Former Brazilian president Lula da Silva has said that it is a state's responsibility to provide sustainable energy to their citizens and that hydropower will serve to that purpose. Currently, more than 60% of Brazil's energy supply comes from hydropower. Planned projects such as the Belo Monte Dam in the Xingu River and the San Antonio/Jirau dams in the Madeira River (see: Figure 2), threaten the livelihoods of thousand of indigenous tribes and farmers that are dependent on ecosystems that would likely be destroyed by these projects.

The following sections will present an overview of two of the most controversial dam development projects in the Amazon Basin, the Belo Monte Dam and the Madeira River Complex.

Belo Monte Dam

The Belo Monte Dam (see:Figure 3) is a proposed hydroelectric dam in the Xingu River in Northeast Brazil. With a cost of US$ 19 billion and a capacity of 11,233 megawatts, the Belo Monte Dam is expected to be the world's third largest dam. The largest dam in the world is the Three Gorges in China, while the second largest is the Syncrude Tailings in Canada. The project is being developed by Odebrecht, the Government of Brazil and the Norte Energy Consortium. The dam is expected to be in operation by 2015. Belo Monte includes two dams, two artificial canals, two reservoirs and an extensive system of dikes. The dam will flood approximately 500 sq kilometers of rainforest that will decrease wildlife and displace 20,000 indigenous peoples, including isolated tribes. Dams affect the chemical composition and water temperature of rivers, leading to alterations in water oxygen levels. This creates conditions unsuitable for the survival of fish. Lack of fish will inevitably also threaten the survival of communities in Northern Amazon that obtain most of their food from fish.

According to Amazon Watch, the s construction of the dam and the deviation of the river will leave traditional communities along a 130 km stretch of the Volta Grande without water, fish, or a means of river transport. Among these tribes are the Yudja, Arara, Kayapo and the Jorunas. The Arara Indias have a long history of fighting against logging companies and other ranchers that have sought to invade their lands. Evidently, the situation will not be any different with the development of the dam projects.

Other tribes have already expressed their discontent with the decision to build the dam. Megaron Tuxucumarrae, chief of the Kayapo tribe said: "We are opposed to dams on the Xingu, and will fight to protect our river". Furthermore, if indigenous peoples are going to be displaced by the construction of this project, clearly Brazil will be in violation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) that protects indigenous people's right of prior consent to development projects that might impact their livelihoods.

Although indigenous communities are the most affected by development projects in the Amazon, they are rarely the beneficiaries. The indigenous' rights movements in Brazil began in the 1980's as a response to atrocities suffered by indigenous tribes at the hands of settlers who stole their land. Also, indigenous tribes were impacted by conflicts over resources exploitation. Indigenous peoples tried to consolidate their leadership into a national organization that would represent their claims. Political conditions and other geographical factors made this national organization unsuccessful. After 1990, indigenous communities' claims have been made public by non-governmental organizations. For example, in the Belo Monte and the Madeira Basin Dams case, Amigos da Terra and International Rivers are the leading voices in condemning the violation of the indigenous peoples' rights.

Madeira Basin Dams

The Madeira river projects are controversial. The Madeira River Hydroelectric Complex includes dam projects such as the San Antonio dam and the Jirau dam. The complex is a central part of the Initiative for the Integration of South American Regional Infrastructure (IIRSA), which promotes economic development and energy independence in the region. The complex will make it possible to navigate the Madeira River from Brazil to Peru and Bolivia. Simun Farabundo(2009) has compared this process with Eduardo Galeanos' Open Veins of Latin America. In the book, Galeano criticizes the United States' economic exploitation of South America's natural resources. Similarly, Farabundo predicts that the Madeira Dam complex will accelerate the destruction of the Amazon Forest.

Farabundo also states that the waterway would serve as a corridor for the transport of minerals, grains, timber, and other products. These resources could flow east toward Brazil's Atlantic port of Belem, and eventually on to Europe, increasing the economic integration of South America with the rest of the world. For example, the construction of the dam will allow Brazil to transport an additional 35 million tons of soybeans every year. However, cheaper transportation costs will serve as an incentive to expand the soy production in the states of Rondonia and Amazonas, increasing deforestation and invasions. This situation might create a 'gold rush' parallel, in which thousands of migrants travel to these states seeking a better life through soybean production. This would most likely lead to increased deforestation and more rapid destruction of the Amazon, thereby worsening climate change.

The San Antonio dam (see: Figure 4) is currently being built, while construction on the Jirau dam has been halted due to federal injunction. The Hydroelectric Complex, with a total capacity of 7000 megawatts, is being developed by the Energia Sustentavel do Brasil Consortium and is expected to be in operation by 2012. The Brazilian Movement of Dam Affected People estimates that 5000 households will be affected by the construction of the projects. Among the affected indigenous tribes are the Karipuna, Karitiana, Oro Win and the Wari'. Presently, the Wari' are peaceful, but they have a previous ethnic conflicts with neighboring tribes such as the Karipuna. The Ecological Corridor Guapore is also expected to be negatively impacted by the dams. The Maideira is one of the world's most ecologically diverse areas, with more than 450 species of fish. For example, the damming of the river will affect fish migration patterns, thus decreasing the diversity of species that currently inhabit the Madeira.

Roland Widmer, representative of Amigos da Terra states: "Santo Antonio and Jirau dams has already sparked massive immigration to the region, accompanied by surges in prostitution, illegal logging, and land invasions, and placing strains on weak urban infrastructure and social services. A 600% increase in deforestation rates over the previous year was reported in the area surrounding the Madeira River after the preliminary license was granted in July 2007."

Climate Change Governance and Dams

Climate change governance should be understood as the set of climate-related policies and international frameworks that seek to steer political spaces that lack formal and centralized authority (Hoffman, 2005). According to Hoffman, climate governance and its experiments make rules that shape how communities respond to climate change. These can be multilateral treaties such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, or bilateral such as the Climate Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between China and India.

The UNFCCC, a non-binding agreement, requires all states to limit their green house gases (GHG) emissions by adopting relevant sustainable energy policies. Nonetheless the convention still protects a State's own right to achieve economic growth. On the other hand, a more stringent agreement is presented in document as the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol proposes GHG emission cuts for most developed nations. Despite the fact, that Brazil is not required to meet specific targets by the Kyoto Protocol, they play a prominent role in climate change discussions. Furthermore, Brazil has been a leader in the development and promotion of green-energy projects and hydropower development.

Brazil was the first nation to sign the UNFCCC in 1992; they also ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. The delegation also proposed the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a strategy to meet the targets of the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM seeks to promote carbon-crediting of project-based emission reductions in developing countries. Hydropower projects have been one of the most successful options to date, particularly in Brazil. According to Whittington (2007), the value of hydropower comes from replacing fossil-based electricity demand with a zero-emissions source of power, thus an overall significant reduction of GHG emissions. 

Environmental Challenges

Despite all positive GHG benefits from hydropower, dam projects are particularly controversial due to negative environmental implications particularly those related to land erosion and aquatic species extinction. Building a dam requires some initial flooding for the creation of the reservoir and other structures such as: spillways, floodgates and check dams, in the nearby areas of the original dam. These structures negatively affect the hydrology of the rivers and the migration pattern of fish by creating barriers to their natural movement. The movement of sediment and fish is essential to maintain aquatic food chains and natural genetic stocks. Evidence from the devastating environmental impacts of dams can be seen in Colombia and India. Please refer to: ICE 156 Urra Dam and ICE 153 Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Based on these assumptions, there is a potential evident tradeoff between air quality and water quality in hydropower projects. This creates a Kobayashi Maru[1] situation in which we are forced to choose between offsetting carbon emissions or heavy environmental degradation. Future energy demands from Brazil's growing population and agro-business further complicate this challenge.

Critics of hydropower projects, such as Timothy Killeen and Glenn Switkes, have stated that drying conditions and changes in precipitation will inevitably affect the Amazon River and its tributaries, which could potentially diminish the hydropower capacity of the region. During the 2005 drought, the Madeira river water levels fell to one-tenth in comparison to rainy season levels, limiting navigation and electricity production. More recently in 2009, a massive blackout in Brazil major cities due to failures in the Itaipu dam pushed the government to accelerate the construction of additional hydropower dams in the Amazon basin. A recent forecast for 2070 by Brazil's CREAS Project stated that an increase of 4 C in temperature will be translated to as much as 15-20% reduction of rainfall levels, which will lead to a decrease in hydroelectric production. 

Economic Challenges

Hydropower is the backbone of the Brazilian economy. Decreasing rainfalls mixed with increasing dry spells will diminish hydroelectric capacity by 25-50% depending on river flows. Consequently, any changes in electricity generation will affect the economic output of the region, particularly for agriculture and urban use. Figure 5 shows expected changes in hydroelectricity generation in South America. We can appreciate that Brazil and most of Northern Amazon countries are highly dependent on hydropower. These are also the same countries that are expected to suffer notable declines in hydro-electricity production by 2050.

The expected population increase of 37% for 2050 will double Brazil's current energy demand. This predicted growth will lead to critical shortages in energy supply by 2050, which could be solved if Brazil diversifies its energy matrix with other sources such as nuclear and bio-mass energy. However, expected costs of the non CO2 energy revolution surpass US$ 260 million (Green Peace, 2008).

Table 1 depicts expected changes in annual flows for Brazilian river basins and its negative impact on Brazil's hydropower capacity. The columns A2 and Bs incorporate IPCC's climate change predictions for 2050. We can appreciate that the rivers basins situated in the Amazon are expected to have the most notable declines in average annual flow. For example, the Tocantins River basin's annual flow is expected to decrease by -23.40%, thus decreasing hydropower production by 0.30%.

3. Duration: 2000 - present

On-going: The conflict between dam-affected communities in this specific area started.

4. Location

• Continent: South America
• Region: Amazon
• Country: Brazil

5. Actors: Brazil and communities in the Xingu and Madeira rivers.

The Brazilian Government is one of the main supporters of the Initiative for Integration of South American Infrastructure. The initiative seeks to further South America's energy independency and to strengthen economic integration by developing the Amazon. But all this is under threat. The Brazilian government is building two massive hydroelectric dams on the Madeira. Construction of these projects plus two additional dams upstream: "would transform the Madeira into an industrial shipping canal, providing the power and transport needed to move large quantities of resources out of the Amazon and accelerate its destruction." The project is the largest of the Initiative for the Integration of South American Infrastructure, or IIRSA.

The Xingu River and its indigenous reserve host more than fifteen pre-Colombian indigenous groups that speak eight different languages. Most of the Xingu natives are sedentary, primarily practicing agriculture and fishing. Among the tribes that will be affected in the Madeira basin are: the Karitiana, Karipuna, Urueu Wau Wau, and Katawixi. According to the Conselho Indigenista Missionario (CIMI), the Jacareuba indigenous lands of the Katawixi in Amazonas State are at risk of flooding due to the Santo Antonio dam.

II. Environment Aspects

There is an array of environmental problems related to the construction of dams in the Amazon Basin that could potentially worsen due to climate change.

6. Type of Environmental Problem: Many

Dams are particularly controversial due to its negative environmental implications particularly those related to land erosion and aquatic species extinction. According to International Rivers, there are two main categories of environmental impacts associated with dam construction: those inherent to dam construction and those caused by operational features in each dam (McCully, 2001).

Examples of these are:

• Impacts due to existence of the dam: upstream change from river valley to reservoir, changes in downstream morphology, changes in water quality, and reduction of biodiversity because of blocking of movement.
• Impacts due dam's operation: changes in downstream hydrology (E.g.: total flows, seasonal timing), changes in downstream morphology, changes in quality, and reduction of riparian habitat diversity because of flood elimination.

According to McCully, the elimination of the benefits provided by natural flooding may be the single most ecologically damaging impact of a dam. This fragmentation of river ecosystems has undoubtedly resulted in a massive reduction in the number of species in the world's watersheds. Some of the environmental effects of dams can benefit some species. For example, impounding a reservoir will create habitat for lake fish and warm water released from a reservoir can increase the abundance of species of fish which failed to thrive in the cool river. But because dams alter the conditions to which local ecosystems have adapted, the overall impact of a dam will almost without exception be to reduce species diversity. Another environmental impact related to dams' construction is the 'lake effect'. The lake effect refers to increasing precipitation patterns caused by variation between the temperature of the air and the temperature of the body of water. Precipitation patterns become more frequent and severe, consequently increasing the probability of flood.

Other scholars such as Harsh Gupta (2002) and Jauhari (1999) have noted the close relationship between dams and earthquakes. They refer to this occurrence as Reservoir-Induced Seismicity (RIS). According to Jauhari, water pressure from the dams creates cracks and fissures in the ground under a reservoir. When the pressure of the water in the rocks increases, it lubricates geological faults under tectonic strain and creates more friction. This friction is later release in the form of temblors or earthquakes. Gupta states that globally, there are over 100 identified cases of earthquakes that scientists believe were triggered by reservoirs. Examples of these are RIS incidents are: Hoover dam (U.S., 1939), with a magnitude of 5.7; Aswan dam (Egypt, 1981), with a magnitude of 5.3; and Koyna dam (India, 1967), with a magnitude of 6.3.

7. Type of Habitat: Tropical

The Amazon rainforest is considered a high-diversity tropical biome, since its home to the biggest collection of living species in the planet. In addition to its ecological value, the Amazon has crucial importance for the economic stability of South America. Productive economic sectors include, but are not limited to: electronics, natural rubber, ecological services, cattle ranching and agricultural crops such as: soy beans, rice, fruits and vegetables.

8. Act and Harm Sites: South American Urban Areas and Amazon Basin

Table 2 depicts the relationship between act sites and harm sites. Act sites refer to the places where the dam project is being constructed and associated conflicts, while harm sites refer to other sites in the Amazon and South America that can be affected by these projects. For example, Rio de Jaineiro and Sao Paolo receive their electricity from dams located in the Amazon. If there were to be a decline in electricity production these urban centers will be the most affected.

III. Conflict Aspects

There have been conflicts between up-steam and down-stream users regarding dams' construction in Latin America. In 1979, Brazil and Paraguay announce the construction of the Itapua Dam on the Parana River, causing Argentina to concern about potential environmental repercussions and effects on their water supply. There was a tense relation between the countries till an agreement was reached later that year. In some instances, the conflict rose beyond expectations. Most scholars would agree that hydropower projects are conflictive by nature. The lack of formal institutions in Brazil to mediate these conflicts lengthens and enhances the severity of dam-related conflicts.

McCormick(2007) states that the mediation of these conflicts in Brazil depends on informal channels often created by civil society representatives and researchers. The Anti-dam movement in Brazil began in late 1980s; about the same time Brazil was transitioning to a democratic country. Democratic countries are expected to allow better public participation in the development of policies; however, this was not the case in Brazil. Most of the hydropower projects were developed unilaterally, without consultation of the communities that were going to be impacted by the projects. Without any institution to legitimize these communities' claims, there cannot be an effective strategy to prevent conflict. Dam projects are not a popular option among civil society representatives due to their high environmental and social costs. For example, International Rivers is working to stop plans for more than 60 new dams in the Amazon region, including the Madeira and Xingu rivers. Additionally, the government of Brazil has not contemplated other options such as energy efficiency that could decrease the need for new dams.

The dams will attract over 100,000 migrants to these areas. Social tension and conflict can arise between indigenous communities and new migrants due to competition over natural resources and land. According to International Rivers, the Kayapo tribes will one of the most affected tribes by construction of the Belo Monte dam. They are opposed to the project and have vowed to wage war if the government proceeds. Further understanding of the social implications of dam related conflicts will allow civil society representatives to propose a dialogue mechanism capable of incorporating the necessities of dam-affected communities. 

9. Type of Conflict: Intra-State

The scope of this article seeks to examine dam-conflicts as intra-state conflicts within Brazil. The projects on the Madeira and the Xingu River will have direct impact on communities within Brazil.

10. Level of Conflict: Low

According to Amazon Watch, Belo Monte will also attract 100,000 migrants to the region. Inevitably, this will represent a threat for Xingu's indigenous communities. Besides increasing deforestation, new migrants could increase social tensions by pushing indigenous peoples out of their territories.

11. Fatality Level of Dispute (military and civilian fatalities): 5,000

Approximately, 30,000 indigenous people will be displaced by the Madeira and the Xingu dams. We can estimate that 25% of these will engage in some sort of violent conflict with new migrants. Based on similar dam/water conflicts in the Amazon (see: ICE 19 - Conflict and Human Rights in the Amazon), the estimated level of civil fatalities is 5,000. Additionally, disease outbreak such as Malaria has the potential to decimate some of the isolated tribes that live in the Madeira River basin.

IV. Environment and Conflict Overlap

12. Environment-Conflict Link and Dynamics: Indirect

The following casual diagram depicts the relationships between the environment and the dam conflicts in Brazil. When human pressuresuch an energy demand is addressed through a climate change governance model, it is transformed to an increase sustainable energy demand. This demand motivates the construction of dams (dam building). Building a dam requires some initial flooding for the creation of the reservoir and other structures such as: spillways, floodgates and check dams, in the nearby areas of the original dam. After the dam is in place, further flooding will occurs due to the lake effect. Inevitably, floods will decrease available land for agriculture. Land use changes will increase deforestation and could potentially exacerbate climate change. On one hand, changes in resource availability will leave some indigenous tribes land-less and will force them to migrate to urban areas. The rural-urban exchanges (migration) could potentially trigger a situation of conflict among both groups. On the other hand, changes in resource availability will increase competition among indigenous tribes and other communities that decided to stay behind in their native lands.  

13. Level of Strategic Interest: Regional

The spatial scope of this conflict could be considered regional. Despite that the main conflict will take place in the inner Amazon, the damming of the Amazon Basin tributaries will have environmental and social impact to downstream users. If not addressed properly, conflicts over dams have the potential to disrupt Brazil's stability. These conflicts could quickly spiral from local issues into regional diplomatic situations.

14. Outcome of Dispute: In Progress

No conflict has taken place between the indigenous people of the Madeira and Xingu rivers. Numerous national and international protests have taken place in order to stop the dam projects. This conflict has the potential of being resolved if the Brazilian Government reevaluates its project development processes. The government can open communication channels with indigenous communities' leaders as stipulated by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Ingenious People and find ways to lessen the impact that these dams will have in the livelihoods of indigenous people.

V. Related Information and Sources

15. Related ICE and TED Cases

The following cases of dam-conflict situations illustrate some of the negative social and environmental impacts of dam development projects .The cases of the Urra and the Bio-Bio River take place in South America. Dam conflicts in Brazil have often been compared with situations in China and the Lower Mekong due to the similarities in the river basin.

• ICE 51 - The Bio-Bio River Case
• ICE 77 - Tigris-Euphrates River Dispute
• ICE 153 - The Sardar Sarovar Dam and Ethnic Conflict In India
• ICE 156 Urra and the Embera-Katio
• ICE 176 - North Korean Dam and Security Aspects
• TED 186 - Ataturk Dam and Environment
• TED 258 - Mekong River Dam

16. Cited Works and Relevant Literature

Literature

• Amazon Watch (2010). Appeal Letter to President Lula Da Silva. [Letter] Retrieved from:http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/Appeal_letter_English.pdf
• Ba, A. & Hoffmann, M. (2005). Contending Perspectives on Global Governance. Routledge Press, London, UK.
• Brazilian Embassy. (2004). Brazilian Policy on Climate Change. [Press Release] Retrieved from:http://www.brasembottawa.org/en/environment/kyoto.html
• Chinese Embassy in Indonesia (2009). China, India sign agreement of co-op on climate change. [Press Release] Retrieved from:http://id.china embassy.org/eng/ztbd/climate_change/t622002.htm
• Farabundo, S. (2009). Integration and the Environment on the Rio Madeira. NACLA news. Retreived from:https://nacla.org/node/5595
• Green Peace. (2008). Energy Revolution Scenario in Brazil. A sustainable world energy outlook. Retrieved fromhttp://www.greenpeace.org/brasil/Global/brasil/report/2008/5/relat-rio-revolu-o-energetica.pdf
• Gupta, H. (2002). A review of recent studies of triggered earthquakes by artificial water reservoirs with special emphasis on earthquakes in Koyna, India. Earth-Science Reviews, 58(3), 279-310
• McCormick, S. (2007). The Governance of Hydro-electric Dams in Brazil. Journal of Latin American Studies, 39(2), 227-261
• Probe International. (2008) Earthquakes Caused by Dams: Reservoir-Triggered/Induced Seismicity. Fact Sheet. Retrieved from:http://www.probeinternational.org/files/dam%20triggeredearthquakes.pdf
• Smith, A. (2009). The Indians of the Xingu: Cultural Homogenization in the Amazon Rainforest. Retrieved from: http://www.amazon-indians.org/page16.html
• Switkes, G. (2008) Muddy Waters: Impacts of Damming the Amazon's Principal Tributary. International Rivers, Brasil.
• Whittington, R. (2007). Hydro and the CDM: The role of hydroelectricity in meeting Kyoto obligations
• World Wildlife Fund. (2010). The Madeira River: Life Before the Dams Video. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY-3Bfx6qqU

Graph References

• Power from the Amazon. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.bicusa.org/en/Article.12213.aspx
• Belo Monte Hydro project. Amazon Watch. Retrieved from: http://www.amazonwatch.org/newsroom/view_news.php?id=2097
• San Antonio Dam Planned Project Map (Source: Electrobras, Brasil)
• Undeveloped Interior Is Focus of Brazil's Hydro Plans. Engineering News Record. Retrieved from: http://theplanet-74-52-9-3.amazonia.org.br/english/noticias/noticia.cfm?id=276501
• Projected Changes in Hydropower for 2050. IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved from: http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/future-of-hydropower

Definitions:

[1]Kobayashi Maru: A no-win situation caused by a set of rules that can only be won by changing the rules, in effect, cheating. The Kobayashi Maru is a test in the fictional Star Trek universe. It is a Starfleet training exercise designed to test the character of cadets while facing a no-win situation.

[12/10/2010 - Olimar E.Maisonet - olimarmaisonet@gmail.com]

Back to ICE

http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/amazondams.html

Introduction to Land Use and Agriculture in the Amazon

Despite deforestation, the Amazon basin rainforest is the largest tropical forest in the world. In Brazil, the largest Amazon country, approximately 3.5 million square kilometers, or 350 million hectares remain. 110 million hectares are designated indigenous reserves and 25 million hectares as sustainable development reserve and extractive reserves for rubber; all of this forest area is considered as a form of community forest.  Additionally, 70 million hectares are some form of national park or protected area. Only a small area is managed as designated forest concessions for timber; some logging occurs on private land while illegal logging is widespread on public and private lands. The majority of cleared land ends in cattle pasture; studies from Brazil’s INPE institute calculate this amount to equal 45 million hectares or 62% of the total cleared area. Permanent agriculture comprises a smaller percentage of the cleared land at 3.5 million hectares; much of the recent soy land (25 million hectares in all of Brazil) is located outside of the Amazon basin.

Governments and international actors are increasingly understanding the connection of forests and land use. In some areas of the Amazon basin, countries are in the process of a forest transition, where economic growth leads to urbanization, forest recovery, and less pressure on existing forests. Most forest clearing in the Amazon occurs around the “arc of deforestation” from Para in the north to Mato Grosso in the south and the Brazil-Peru-Bolivia area in the southwest, but the vast interior of Amazonas state is still forest. Approximately 20 million people live in the Amazon basin, most of them in major cities such as Manaus and Iquitos. Almost half a million indigenous peoples from hundreds of tribes live in Amazon forests; many live traditional lives in designated indigenous reserves.   

Large scale forest conversion in the Amazon has only occurred since the 1970’s and 1980’s, together with the growth of Brazil’s economy. Before the arrival of Europeans, indigenous peoples occupied the Amazon basin for thousands of years practicing small sale shifting cultivation, likely in populations much larger than today. Traditional indigenous peoples cultivated manioc, tubers, fruit, and palm trees in rotating plots, supplementing their farm plots with forest resources of rubber, nuts, fruits, fibers, and medicines (see Indigenous land use page). In the 18th and 17th centuries, timber harvest and rubber extraction cut deep into Amazon forests, but many settlements were temporary. In the second half of the 20th century, Brazil and other countries of the Amazon basin initiated land reform and colonization programs to finally encourage permanent settlement.  Migrant farmers to the Amazon basin soon discovered however that rainforest soil was unsuitable for many forms of permanent cultivation. Amazon soil is old and intensely weathered, generally acidic, infertile, and subject to compaction from intense solar radiation. Most nutrients are stored in aboveground vegetation; cutting and burning enriches soil but nutrients are leached or unavailable to crops after just a few growing seasons. Cutover lands turned over to cattle pasture, but in many cases returned to secondary forest.

http://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/land-use

Sources:

Börner, J., Wunder, S., Pacheco, P., Ingram, V., Ihalainen, M., & Reed, J. et al. (2012). Forests or Agriculture: not necessarily an ‘all or nothing’ trade-off. CIFOR Forests News Blog. Retrieved fromhttp://blog.cifor.org/11088/forests-or-agriculture-not-necessarily-an-all-or-nothing-trade-off/#.VgWybstVhBd

Cronkleton, P., Bray, D. B., & Medina, G. (2011). Community forest management and the emergence of multi-scale governance institutions: lessons for REDD+ development from Mexico, Brazil and Bolivia. Forests,2(2), 451-473.

Denevan, W. M. (1992). The pristine myth: the landscape of the Americas in 1492. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 82(3), 369-385.

European Comission. (2015). Forests and Agriculture. European Commission. Retrieved 25 September 2015, from http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/forests/index_en.htm

International Institute for Environment and Development,. (2015). The interface between forests, agriculture and climate change: understanding the implications for REDD. Retrieved 25 September 2015, fromhttp://www.iied.org/interface-between-forests-agriculture-climate-change-understanding-implications-for-redd

International Tropical Timber Organization. (2011). Status of Tropical Forest Management 2011. Country report: Brazil. ITTO.

Laurance, W. (2015). Will Increased Food Production Devour Tropical Forest Lands? Yale Environment 360.Retrieved 25 September 2015, from http://e360.yale.edu/feature/will_increased_food_production_devour_tropical_forest_lands/2755/

Mongabay news. (2011). Retrieved from: http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0904-amazon_deforestation_causes.html#yx8scpkFsxKqFRJq.99

Mather, A. S. (1992). The forest transition. Area, 367-379.

Viana, Virgilio Mauricio et al. (2012). REDD+ and Community Forestry: lessons learned from an exchange between Brazil and Africa. World Bank.

World Bank. 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2013/10/09/Brazil-protects-Amazon-increasing-size-protected-areas.