Pereira, a Pupekuri indigenous person, speaks with regret about the impact of the hydroelectric plant, the fourth largest in the world, denounced by local residents for destroying one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet and for forcing them to abandon their way of life.
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“Our culture is to live off fish and water,” says Pereira, 39, wearing a traditional indigenous necklace and a red cap.
His gaze is fixed on the once flooded landscape, transformed into a tangle of puddles, where the fish are trapped by the diversion of the flow caused by the power plant. Belo Monte, in Pará, opened in 2016.
“We have completely lost our culture,” he says. “Today, we are forced to buy food in the city.”
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“As God left”
Along its almost 2 thousand km, the flow of Xingu it rises and falls with the rainy season, creating large “igapós” or flooded jungles, which are crucial for many species. It is also vital for an estimated 25 indigenous people who live on its banks.
Belo Monte diverts an extension of around 100 km from the Xingu, called Volta Grande, in the municipality of Altamira, to supply the hydroelectric plant with capacity to produce 11.233 megawatts, which represents 6,2% of Brazil's total electrical generation capacity.
With construction estimated at 40 billion reais, up to 80% of the river's flow is taken by Belo Monte. Scientists, environmentalists and residents denounce the catastrophic effect on this unique ecosystem.
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“The dam broke the flood pulse. Upstream [upriver] of the reservoir, this region is as if it were always in flood, and downstream [downriver], it is as if it were always in a dry period”, explains André Oliveira Sawakuchi, geoscientist at the University of São Paulo.
This affects fish and tracajá populations, which depend on igapós to feed and reproduce, says the expert.
Sitting on the banks of the impressive Jericoá Falls, in Xingu, considered sacred by his people, indigenous leader Giliarde Juruna describes a clash of cultures.
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“Progress for us is to have nature standing, to have the animals, the rivers in the way God left them”, says Juruna, aged 40.
“Progress for the white man is totally different because he thinks he is doing good by bringing progress, but he is destroying nature, he is causing harm to himself”, he continues.
Squid under the magnifying glass
Belo Monte It was designed in the 1970s, but was only authorized during the governments of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), who was elected in October for a third term.
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With his return to power, on January 1st, attention once again focuses on the controversial plant.
It's just that many expect Lula to fulfill his promess to do a better job of protecting Amazon than Jair Bolsonaro, whose government recorded deforestation records.
Despite being defended as a source of clean energy and an engine of economic growth, Belo Monte did not fully meet expectations.
According to the company that operates the hydroelectric plant, Norte Energia, the plant produced an average of 4.212 megawatts this year, less than half of its capacity.
And according to a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, greenhouse gas emissions tripled in the region after the construction of the dam, mainly due to methane released by the decomposition of the forest that lies at the bottom of the reservoir.
An alternative
Researchers from the conservation group Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), in collaboration with indigenous people from the Juruna ethnic group, decided in 2015 to document the impact and found a way to Belo Monte affect river flow less.
Called the “Piracema” plan, alluding to the period in which fish swim upstream to spawn, its proponents assert that it would only require a relatively small adjustment to the dam's current water use to adapt to the river's natural floods and ebbs. .
Ibama will soon decide whether Norte Energia should adopt this plan.
(To AFP)
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