International Day of Action to Defend the Amazon

2011 / 08 / 22

 International Day of Action to Defend the Amazon

Over the last two months, an alarming assault has been waged on the Brazilian Amazon

-          On 6/1 Brazilian government approved construction of the disastrous Belo Monte Dam despite the objections from various fields.  Heavy machinery is now breaking ground on the banks of the Xingu River.

-          Brazil's Congress voted to gut their Forest Code, leading to a huge spike in deforestation.

-          Forest guardians have been victims of murder and intimidation.

Belo Monte will be built on one of the Amazon’s major tributaries, the Xingu.  It will be the world’s third largest dam, behind the Three Gorges Dam in China and the Brazilian Paraguayan Itaipu Dam.  It will dig more earth than the Panama Canal and diverts more than 80% of the flow of Xingu down two huge artificial canals – each 500 metres wide – to the powerhouse, leaving the 100km rocky stretch down-stream known as Xingu’s “Big Bend” high and dry.  It will also destroy at least 1,500 km2 of area, force displacement of 20,000 – 40,000 indigenous and local people, and destroy countless invaluable precious species.  The installed capacity is 11,233MW, but average power generation will be only at 40%, and in the 3-5 months dry season even as low as 10%.  Such inefficiency makes many to believe Brazil will build other dams upstream with greater storage capacity to guarantee there will be enough water for Belo Monte to generate electricity year-round.  And because of the difficulties and complexity of the project, it will cost as high as USD12 billion (estimated by government) ~ USD18 billion (by industry analysts), not including costs of transmission lines even. 

However, such high prices in all levels can be avoided, by power saving and developing other forms of electricity.  WWF-Brail indicated that by 2020, through investing in energy efficiency, Brazil can cut the electricity demand by 40%, equivalent to 14 Belo Monte, and at the same time renewable sources such as biomass, wind, solar and small hydro can be developed to account for 20% of electricity.  On the contrary, BNDES, Brazilian’s public bank which will provide the most financing to Belo Monte, has only 0.1% of lending went to energy efficiency projects, out of the USD8 billion to the country’s electric sector in 2009.

Rainforests sustain us. They help regulate the global climate and are vital to maintaining the earth's fragile balance. The Amazon rainforest is the world's largest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest, covering an area larger than the continental United States. It houses one-third of the Earth's plant and animal species and produces one-fifth of all its fresh water.  Nearly 400 distinct indigenous peoples depend on the Amazon rainforest for their physical and cultural survival. At current rates of deforestation, nearly 50 percent of the Amazon could be lost or severely degraded by the year 2020, and the vast majority will no longer be in a pristine state.

Protests have been growing throughout Brazil and around the world.  On August 20 will be massive day of action in at least 22 Brazilian cities.  Upon the calling of Antonia Melo, a key leader of the movement to stop the Belo Monte Dam, there will be protests around the world on August 22 in front of the local Brazilian Embassy or Consulate.  So far 16 countries (Australia, Canada, England, France, German, Mexico, Holland, Portugal, Scotland, Taiwan, Turkey, USA, etc) and 20 cities will join, demanding that the Brazilian government guarantee the protection of

the Amazon by halting the Belo Monte Dam, revoking proposed changes to the country’s Forestry Code,and protecting forest activists from further assault.

Defend the Brazilian Amazon, indigenous and local community rights and our global climate, the world stands by the Brazilians!

Joint action groups:

Green Party Taiwan

Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan

Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association

Amnesty International, Taiwan

The Humanistic Education Foundation

Green Proclaim Workshop

Indigenous Peoples Action Coalition of Taiwan；IPACT

Association of Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples' Development

Association of Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples' Policy

Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Non Governmental Organization Alliance

Jian-shih anti-dam association

Laiji Self-Defense Association

Kaohsiung Aboriginal Women Sustainable Cultivation Association

Kaohsiung University for the Indigenous Peoples

Native Tribe Rebuilding Cultural & Educational Foundation

National Taiwan University College Of Science Student Association

And about 1,000 individual petition signers from Taiwan, as attached.

Contacts:

Suling (Shamba) Lin, Initiator, 0922341409 / 這個 E-mail 地址已經被防止灌水惡意程式保護，您需要啟用 Java Script 才能觀看

Hanshen Pan, Spokesman/Green Party Taiwan 0935295815 / 這個 E-mail 地址已經被防止灌水惡意程式保護，您需要啟用 Java Script 才能觀看