DOCSLIB.ORG

Recognizing Women in the Struggle for Social and Environmental Justice in the Context of the Belo Monte Hydropower Dam in the Brazilian Amazon

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Recognizing Women in the Struggle for Social and Environmental Justice in the Context of the Belo Monte Hydropower Dam in the Brazilian Amazon Master’s Thesis 2016 30 ECTS International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric) Recognizing Women in the Struggle for Social and Environmental Justice in the Context of the Belo Monte Hydropower Dam in the Brazilian Amazon Tove Mariann Heiskel International Environmental Studies Tove Mariann Heiskel Recognizing Women in the Struggle for Social and Environmental Justice in the Context of the Belo Monte Hydropower Dam in the Brazilian Amazon Master Thesis i The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Eight departments, associated research institutions and the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine in Oslo. Established in 1986, Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments. The Noragric Master thesis are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master programme “International Environmental Studies”, “International Development Studies” and “International Relations”. The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric. © Tove Mariann Heiskel, December 2016 [email protected] Noragric Department of International Environment and Development Studies P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Ås Norway Tel.: +47 64 96 52 00 Fax: +47 64 96 52 01 Internet: http://www.nmbu.no/noragric iii Declaration I, Tove Mariann Heiskel, declare that this thesis is a result of my research investigations and findings. Sources of information other than my own have been acknowledged and a reference list has been appended. This work has not been previously submitted to any other university for award of any type of academic degree. Signature...................................... Date............................................ v Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been written were it not for the help, support and encouragement of numerous people. I especially would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Esben Leifsen, for his guidance, comments and encouragement, which have been of great value during the entire process of this work. I would also like to thank the Department for International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric) and the association Water, Rivers and People for providing travelling funds to carry out my fieldwork. Special thanks go to the Movement of Dam-Affected People (MAB) coordinators in Pará, who helped me throughout fieldwork in 2015, introduced me to informants and social movements in Altamira and accompanied me in the field. Thank you all for your time, help, openness and patience. I am very grateful to the MAB in São Paulo for receiving me at the National Meeting of Dam-Affected People and for making space for me in the field-trip they organized to the Xingu and Tapajós Rivers in 2013. This travel was organised by MAB in Altamira and Itaituba, and it lay the base for this thesis. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude and recognition to all the informants. Thank you for sharing your touching stories with me. I owe a special thanks to Professor Pedro Arrojo, from the University of Zaragoza, who introduced me to the problems with mistaken water policies. I am very grateful for everything I learnt from him about large dams, human impacts and social struggles during the years of work in the Water, Rivers and Peoples exhibition and it´s social agenda. Thanks to Eric Cezne and Beth Gelb who translated several of the interviews for me and helped out with clarifications in some of the other interviews. Your help is most appreciated. I also owe an enormous gratitude to Alberto Bernués for his unwavering support, advice and encouragement during all steps of this thesis, and for being by my side in good and difficult times – this thesis would not be possible without you. I am forever grateful. My heartfelt gratitude goes to our wonderful children, Matilde and Elias, for their understanding, help and patience in the weeks I was away and during a chaotic time during the writing process. I can never thank you enough. vii Abstract In this thesis, I explain the interlinkages between large dams, women and struggles for social justice within the context of the Belo Monte dam. First, I study how and why women are impacted in different ways by the Belo Monte project, and secondly, I explore how affected women, involved in social movements, react to the effects of the Belo Monte hydropower dam, and what results their struggle has given. The study is based on a qualitative research methodology. The empirical data derived from semi-structured interviews and analyzed by means of inductive content analysis. The discussion of the results was framed within the three dimensions of social and environmental justice theory (distribution, recognition and participation) and conceptualised in a gender perspective, with a focus on women. The findings show that people from riverside communities were impoverished by dispossession and maldistribution practises imposed by the construction authorities and also by their collective abandonment of the uprooted people in terms of public services, mitigation- and rehabilitation strategies. These sudden and vast changes affected women severely because of their traditional position as caretakers of the family, linked to their home and community. The forced displacement to inland resettlement-suburbs with lacking public infrastructure and water supply, increased and complicated women´s daily work burdens and ended their incomes from resource-dependent smallholder activities. Existing problems of gender-related violence and sexual abuse increased after the Belo Monte project due to the vast immigration of construction workers and the social confusion the project generated. No adequate measures had been taken to avoid this situation. Being bound to the home and family where the grievances, problems and desolation were most evident, women ended up in the very short end of distributional inequity having to cope and overcome the challenges. While these impacts are significant, I argue that increased awareness about local women´s lives, losses and claims are important to implement measures to overcome them (Buechler et al. 2015; Dyck 2005), and importantly, to recognize that local women´s interests are different than the ideas powerful decision-makers have for development. To obtain change, it is important to include women´s participation in decision-making arenas in large socio- environmental projects such as the Belo Monte dam, and likewise in the construction of national policies and regulations. ix I suggest that by paying attention to women´s lives, voices and actions, one can obtain valuable information about some of the hidden drivers of social and environmental change such as: unjust distribution, misrecognition of difference and exclusion in decision-making processes, which are all obstacles to a move towards equity and justice. In this thesis, I conclude that women´s participation helps building gender-just movements and incorporates women´s claims in political strategies associated with socio-environmental movements; strategies that demand just distribution, recognition and participation in order to confront economic, cultural and political oppression of marginalised groups, with women at the centre. x List of abbreviations ANEEL Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica- Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency ABNT Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas- Brazilian Association of Technical Norms BNDES Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econô mico e Social- Brazilian Development Bank CCBM Consórcio Construtor Belo Monte- Belo Monte Construction Consortium CDDPH Conselho de Defesa dos Direitos da Pessoa Humana- Council for the Defense of Human Rights (Brazil) EIA Environmental Impact Assessment FPIC Free, Prior and Informed Consent FUNAI Fundação Nacional do Índio- Agency for Indigenous Affairs IBAMA Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis - Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Renewable Resources ILO International Labour Organization ISA Instituto Socio-Ambiental- Socio-Environmental Institute MAB Movimento do Atingidos por Barragens- Movement of Dam-Affected People MMC Movimento Mujeres Camponesas- Movement of Peasant Women MMTACC Movimento de Mulheres Trabalhadoras de Altamira Campo e Cidade- Movement of Women Workers in Altamira MPF Ministério Público Federal- Federal Public Prosecutor MW Megawatt MXVPS Movimento Xingo Vivo Para Sempre- Xingu Forever Alive Movement NGO Non-Governmental Organization PBA Plano Básico Ambiental- Basic Environmental Plan PAC Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento- Growth Acceleration Program xi List of figures Figure 1. Altamira, Novo Horizonte in Brazil Novo and Belo Monte region 9 Figure 2. Location of urban resettlement areas in Altamira 11 Figure 3. Scheme of the analytical framework 15 Figure 4. State Agencies and Corporate Actors involved in the Belo Monte dam 28 Figure 5. Norte Energia Consortium shareholders 29 Figure 6. Riverside community by the Xingu River located in the flood-area of the 45 reservoir (2013) Figure 7. Riverside in Altamira city before reservoir flooding (2013) 55 Figure 8. Demolished houses by the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Belo Monte Dam: Greatest “Natural” Disaster of Our Generation? by Shane Puthuparambil
    THE BELO MONTE DAM: GREATEST “NATURAL” DISASTER OF OUR GENERATION? BY SHANE PUTHUPARAMBIL n 1989, in the Brazilian town of Altamira, nearly two decades. However, in 2011, the shallow and traveling at high velocities Ia Kayapo woman spoke passionately to a Brazilian environmental ministry (IBAMA) are often referred to as “rapids.” The Volta gathering that had been arranged by various granted licenses to Norte Energia—a Grande represents some of the largest and international nonprofits. “We don’t need Brazilian construction consortium—to start most complex rapids on Earth.5 Prior to electricity; electricity won’t give us food,” she construction on a new project. Today, the human development, this bend was home said. “We need the rivers to flow freely—our world’s fourth largest hydroelectric project, to hundreds of freshwater fish species, each futures depend on them. We need our forests known as the Belo Monte Dam, is nearly inhabiting its own unique niche within the to hunt and gather in. Don’t talk to us about complete, and the social and environmental river. In fact, a recent survey collected an relieving our ‘poverty’—we are the richest concerns of the past are now the nauseating astounding 450 species from 48 distinct fish people in Brazil. We are Indians.”1 realties of the present. families in the Volta Grande, demonstrating Strong-willed and emotional, the Kayapo the enormous diversity of fish in the river.6 The woman's voice reverberated throughout THE XINGU AND BELO MONTE Belo Monte hydroelectric complex, which is the international
    [Show full text]
  • Brazil's Belo Monte Dam: Lessons of an Amazonian Resource Struggle
    Vol. 148, No. 2-3 · Research article Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam: Lessons of an Amazonian resource DIE ERDE struggle Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin Philip M. Fearnside National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, 2936, Manaus, Amazonas, CEP 69067-375, Brazil, [email protected] Manuscript submitted: 6 April 2016 / Accepted for publication: 24 March 2017 / Published online: 27 September 2017 Abstract The struggle to stop Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam, whose reservoir was filled in December 2015, has lessons for other resource struggles in Amazonia and beyond. Among the impediments that failed to halt the dam were the resistance efforts of both indigenous and non-indigenous victims of the dam’s impacts, as well as the non- governmental organizations and other actors supporting their cause. The pro-dam side had massive political and financial support from the top levels of the Brazilian government, including vigorous involvement of the country’s president. At the same time, achievements of the anti-dam side, particularly the local grassroots organizations, have provided inspiration for resource struggles elsewhere (although the victories of the resis- tance are significantly less definitive than was thought by many at the time). Zusammenfassung Die Auseinandersetzungen um einen Stopp des Belo Monte Staudamms in Brasilien, dessen Stausee im Dezem- ber 2015 geflutet wurde, beinhalten Lehren für andere Ressourcenkonflikte in Amazonien und darüber hinaus. Zu den Kräften, denen es letztendlich nicht gelungen war, den Staudammbau aufzuhalten, gehörten vor allem- die Widerstandbemühungen der indigenen und nicht-indigenen direkt vom Staudammbau Betroffenen, die von- Nicht-Regierungsorganisationen und anderen Akteuren in ihrer Sache unterstützt worden waren.
    [Show full text]
  • BRAZIL: PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA GOES to BAT for BELO MONTE DAM PROJECT Notisur
    University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues Latin American Energy Policy, Regulation and in Latin America Dialogue 5-28-2010 BRAZIL: PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA GOES TO BAT FOR BELO MONTE DAM PROJECT NotiSur Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/la_energy_notien Recommended Citation NotiSur. "BRAZIL: PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA GOES TO BAT FOR BELO MONTE DAM PROJECT." (2010). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/la_energy_notien/118 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin American Energy Policy, Regulation and Dialogue at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in NotiEn: An Analytical Digest About Energy Issues in Latin America by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BRAZIL: PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA GOES TO BAT FOR BELO MONTE DAM PROJECT By Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Unfazed by entrenched environmental opposition, a threat of war by local indigenous groups, and celebrity lobbying by a handful of Hollywood stars, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is putting the pedal to the metal on a controversial hydroelectric project slated for the country's Amazon jungle region. Planned for the Xingu River, a major tributary of the Amazon River, the Belo Monte dam project promises to add a staggering 11,200 megawatts of electricity to Brazil's grid. Once completed, it would be the world's third-largest hydroelectric complex after the Three Gorges Dam in China (21,500 MW) and the 14,000-MW Itaipú dam, which Brazil shares with neighboring Paraguay.
    [Show full text]
  • Belo Monte E Altamira (Babaquara) Como Fontes De Gases De Efeito Estufa
    This file has been cleaned of potential threats. If you confirm that the file is coming from a trusted source, you can send the following SHA-256 hash value to your admin for the original file. b954a4dad5e970d8553409d25947ca1d72d87df61c7a3c79b0b06cb3267a4873 To view the reconstructed contents, please SCROLL DOWN to next page. The text that follows is a TRANSLATION O texto que segue é uma TRADUÇÃO Please cite the original article: Favor citar o trabalho original: Fearnside, P.M. 2009. As hidrelétricas de Belo Monte e Altamira (Babaquara) como fontes de gases de efeito estufa. Novos Cadernos NAEA 12(2): 5-56. Available at: Disponível em: http://www.periodicos.ufpa.br/index.php/ncn/article/view/315/501 English version: Hydroelectric dams planned on Brazil’s Xingu River as sources of greenhouse gases: Belo Monte (Kararaô) and Altamira (Babaquara). (manuscript). [available at: http://philip.inpa.gov.br/publ_livres/mss%20and%20in%20press/Belo%20Monte%20emissio ns-Engl.pdf 1 Hydroelectric Dams Planned on Brazil’s Xingu River as sources of Greenhouse Gases: Belo Monte (Kararaô) and Altamira (Babaquara) Philip M. Fearnside1 (1) National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA) , C.P. 478, 69011-970 Manaus-Amazonas, Brazil English translation of: Fearnside, P.M. 2009. As hidrelétricas de Belo Monte e Altamira (Babaquara) como fontes de gases de efeito estufa. Novos Cadernos NAEA 12(2): 5-56. Available at: http://philip.inpa.gov.br/publ_livres/ 2009/Belo%20Monte%20e%20Babaquara%20emissoes- Novos%20Cad%20NAEA.pdf And at: http://www.periodicos.ufpa.br/index.php/ncn/article/view/315/501 Please cite the original article.
    [Show full text]
  • 'National Interest': the Depoliticization and Repoliticization of The
    water Article Disputing the ‘National Interest’: The Depoliticization and Repoliticization of the Belo Monte Dam, Brazil Ed Atkins School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, UK; [email protected] Received: 31 October 2018; Accepted: 21 December 2018; Published: 9 January 2019 Abstract: The construction of a hydroelectric project transforms the watershed in which it is located, leading to a moment of contestation in which the scheme is challenged by opposition actors. This paper explores the interplay between pro- and anti-dam coalitions contesting the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil by discussing how each group inscribes the project with a particular resonance in policy. Drawing upon the work of Chantal Mouffe on agonism and Tania Murray Li on ‘rendering technical’, the subsequent discussion analyzes semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and primary documents to explore how the storylines advanced by pro- and anti-dam actors contest the political character of Belo Monte. It is argued that within these storylines, Belo Monte’s positioning within the ‘national interest’ represents a key site of the project’s depoliticization and repoliticization—which are understood as the respective denial and illumination of the project’s location within a wider terrain of political antagonism and conflict. Whilst pro-dam actors assert the apolitical character of the project by foregrounding it within depoliticized questions of economic benefits, anti-dam actors reground the project within a context of political corruption and the circumvention of dissent. With this paper providing evidence of how contests over dam construction are linked to the concealing and/or illumination of the project’s political content, it is argued that the repoliticization of a project by a resistance movement can have consequences far beyond the immediate site of construction.
    [Show full text]
  • Uncertainties in Amazon Hydropower Development: Risk Scenarios and Environmental Issues Around the Belo Monte Dam
    www.water-alternatives.org Volume 3 | Issue 2 Sousa Júnior, W.C. and Reid, J. 2010. Uncertainties in Amazon hydropower development: Risk scenarios and environmental issues around the Belo Monte dam. Water Alternatives 3(2): 249-268 Uncertainties in Amazon Hydropower Development: Risk Scenarios and Environmental Issues around the Belo Monte Dam Wilson Cabral de Sousa Júnior Professor, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil; [email protected] John Reid Executive Director, Conservation Strategy Fund, Sebastopol, CA, USA; [email protected] ABSTRACT: The Amazon region is the final frontier and central focus of Brazilian hydro development, which raises a range of environmental concerns. The largest project in the Amazon is the planned Belo Monte Complex on the Xingu river. If constructed it will be the second biggest hydroelectric plant in Brazil, third largest on earth. In this study, we analyse the private and social costs, and benefits of the Belo Monte project. Furthermore, we present risk scenarios, considering fluctuations in the project’s feasibility that would result from variations in total costs and power. For our analysis, we create three scenarios. In the first scenario Belo Monte appears feasible, with a net present value (NPV) in the range of US$670 million and a rate of return in excess of the 12% discount rate used in this analysis. The second scenario, where we varied some of the project costs and assumptions based on other economic estimates, shows the project to be infeasible, with a negative NPV of about US$3 billion and external costs around US$330 million.
    [Show full text]
  • The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam and Its Impact on Rural Agrarian Households
    sustainability Article Market Participation in the Age of Big Dams: The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam and Its Impact on Rural Agrarian Households Aniseh S. Bro 1,*, Emilio Moran 2 ID and Miquéias Freitas Calvi 3 1 School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA 2 Department of Geography, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; [email protected] 3 Faculty of Forestry, Federal University of Pará, Altamira-PA 68.372-040, Brazil; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-734-764-2550 Received: 12 April 2018; Accepted: 10 May 2018; Published: 16 May 2018 Abstract: With rapid population growth comes the ever-important task of meeting the energy demand that this growth requires, and many of the world’s tropical regions have turned to hydropower to address the challenges associated with increasing energy consumption. Hydropower is an important energy policy issue in Brazil, and it is promoted as the preferred electricity option, because it is the least expensive in terms of long-term returns on investment; the Belo Monte dam in Northern Brazil provides an opportunity to study the effects of large investments in hydroelectric infrastructure on the surrounding local population. Using a matched panel data spanning 10 years (2005 to 2015), we study the impacts of Brazil’s Belo Monte dam on cocoa and other food crop producers in the region. We find that households have seen a decline in rural employment opportunities, and despite improvements in cocoa productivity households have experienced declining food production. With the construction of the dam largely completed, farmers must now face the challenges of decreased food access and shifts in employment opportunities, and while there are many advantages and opportunities associated with this new development, special policy considerations are necessary to ensure that there are safety nets in place to assist those who will see a decline in access to economic opportunities.
    [Show full text]
  • Brazilian Foreign Policy Under Dilma Rousseff Diego Santos Vieira De
    Journal of International Relations and Foreign Policy March 2014, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 19-42 ISSN: 2333-5866 (Print), 2333-5874 (Online) Copyright © The Author(s). 2014. All Rights Reserved. Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development The Benign Multipolarity: Brazilian Foreign Policy Under Dilma Rousseff Diego Santos Vieira de Jesus1 Abstract The aim is to explain Brazilian foreign policy in Dilma Rousseff’s administration, particularly the consolidation of the ‘South American anchor’, the attempts of rapprochement with the United States and the strengthening of cooperation with emerging economies in Asia and Africa. The first is related to more convergent preferences of Brazilian and other South American governments on the integration of productive chains, the consolidation of South American zone of peace and the implementation of social projects. The second are related to more convergent preferences of Brazilian and the U.S. governments on the coordination to fight the global economic crisis and reciprocal investments. The third is related to more convergent preferences of Brazilian government and emerging economies on the promotion of balanced North-South relations and South-South partnerships. Keywords: Brazil; foreign policy; Dilma Rousseff; South America; United States; BRICS Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff – whose administration started in January 2011 – developed a less personal foreign policy than the one developed by the previous administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010). Rousseff seemed not to emphasize ideological identities and personal abilities. 1Diego Santos Vieira de Jesus holds a PhD in International Relations from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (IRI/PUC-Rio), Brazil. He is a lecturer in International Relations at the International Relations Institute of the same university and at the School of Higher Education in Advertising and Marketing of Rio de Janeiro (ESPM-RJ), Brazil.
    [Show full text]
  • Briefing Library European Parliament
    Library Briefing Library of the European Parliament 12/06/2013 Belo Monte Dam project: an outline The Belo Monte Dam is a hydroelectric dam setting conditions for obtaining the installation under construction in the state of Pará, Brazil. licence. This was finally granted in 2011, Upon completion, with a generating capacity of despite many disputing that the conditions 11 233 Megawatts, it will be the third largest had been fulfilled. Local and federal courts hydroelectric power plant in the world. The successively adopted conflicting judgments project faces widespread criticism on economic, until, in August 2012, the Supreme Federal environmental and social reasons. Commercial Court authorised the construction of the dam. generation is expected to begin in 2015, with the Brazilian Minister for Mines and Energy, Edison whole plant scheduled to run at full capacity in Lobão recently stated that hydroelectric 2019. energy is "clean, renewable and cheap", and History also affirmed that Belo Monte has the lowest environmental impact in the world, Plans for the former Kararaô Dam began in proportionate to its capacity. The government 1975, with the military dictatorship aiming to claims that the project will ensure the rational build hydroelectric dams on the Xingu river, an use of natural resources, environmental affluent of the Amazon. A debt crisis, protection and sustainable development while privatisation of the electricity sector, the improving the living conditions of 60 million introduction of environmental licensing and people. strong opposition from civil society and local indigenous communities (grouped in 1989 in Financing the Encontro das Naçoes Indigenas do Xingu) Total investment in the plant amounts to were amongst the reasons why the plans – R$28.9 billion (approximately €10.3 billion).
    [Show full text]
  • Brazil's Belo Monte Dam: a Hydropower Dilemma Michele Wolff
    Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam: A Hydropower Dilemma Michele Wolff Throughout the Xingu river basin, Antonia Melo da Silva is seen as a tireless warrior and beacon of hope. The Belo Monte Dam took her home, her livelihood, and her happiness. To this day, she still remembers the day the bulldozers arrived in her community. The fear that took root inside her and all her loved ones was incomparable, but one they soon learned to live with. Unwilling to leave anyone behind, Silva made sure everyone had a place to go before she packed up her family and said her final goodbyes to the land of her ancestors. She left, but she did not remain silent in the face of such injustice. The dam brings death to the flora, the fauna, countless indigenous and traditional cultures that live in the Xingu basin. Our people face increased violence, unemployment and misery because the government and a group of investors want to exploit our land and rivers for profit. I dedicated my life to campaigning against this project, and though it has gone ahead, I will keep on fighting against what Belo Monte represents: a destructive, unsustainable and unfeasible development model. (Silva, 2017) Silva created “Movimiento Xingu Vivo Para Sempre” over twenty years ago. Recently, Silva was awarded the 2017 Alexander Soros Foundation Award for her activism. The question Silva now faces is how to allocate funds in order to further the foundation’s missions. To determine the best move forward, she decided to take a holistic approach into understanding Belo Monte and the hydropower dilemma Brazil is facing.
    [Show full text]
  • Involuntary Displacement and the Belo Monte Dam: Changes in Self‐Perception of the Volta Grande’S Displaced Riverine Peasants
    Involuntary Displacement and the Belo Monte Dam: Changes in Self‐Perception of the Volta Grande’s Displaced Riverine Peasants Hannah Khouri Mount Holyoke College Environmental Studies Politics/Policy Making Advisor: Professor Timothy Farnham Acknowledgements I would like to thank the many people who have made this research possible: Professor Timothy Farnham, Professor Catherine Corson, Professor Girma Kebbede, and Professora Nirvia Ravena. I would also like to thank the members of Xingu Vivo Para Sempre for their help in reaching out to various Ribeirinhos communities and Jose Paulo for taking the time to ensure my ability to access families on the Volta Grande and for opening up his home. Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Background • Background on the Belo Monte Dam • What is a “Subsistence Community”? • Economic Theories • Ribeirinhos Economic System • Perceptions and Misconceptions of Small‐Scale Communities • Consequences of Displacement • Licensing Procedure Associated with the Belo Monte Dam III. Experimental Design • Introduction to my Case Study • Site Description and Sampling • Interviews • Participant Observation • Document Analysis • Ethics IV. Results and Discussion • Self‐Perception of Intact Riverine Communities • Impact of Displacement on Self‐Perception • Views of Belo Monte Dam V. Policy Recommendations • Justification of Potential Solutions VI. Conclusion Works Cited Appendix 1 Saudade: a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament ‐Oxford English Dictionary 2 “Saudade” is one of the most salient terms in the Brazilian vocabulary. Beyond simple nostalgia, saudade refers to missing a person or place that has been a deep influence on one’s life and that will never be known again.
    [Show full text]
  • The Open Veins of the Xingu River's Big Bend
    1 The open veins of the Xingu River’s Big Bend Analysis of the impacts of the Belo Sun mining company in a region already affected by the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam Marcel Gomes* Chapters 1. Mine infrastructure and surroundings 2. Affected communities 3. Land tenure aspects 4. Indigenous peoples 5. Synergistic effects with the Belo Monte dam 6. Conclusion: what the future holds for Xingu River’s Big Bend Acronyms ACP – Ação Civil Pública (Public Civil Legal Action) CNDH – Conselho Nacional de Direitos Humanos (National Human Rights Council) DNPM – Departamento Nacional de Produção Mineral (National Mineral Production Department) DPE – Defensoria Pública do Estado do Pará (Office of the Public Defender of the State of Pará) ECI – Estudo do Componente Indígena (Study of the Indigenous Component) EIA – Estudo de Impacto Ambiental (Environmental Impact Study) FUNAI – Fundação Nacional do Índio (National Indigenous Agency) Ibama – Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) Incra – Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária (National Land Settlement and Agrarian Reform Institute) ISA – Instituto Socioambiental (Socio-environmental Institute) MPF – Ministério Público Federal (Office of the Federal Public Prosecutor) MP-PA – Ministério Público do Estado do Pará (Office of the Public Prosecutor of the State of Pará) MXV – Movimento Xingu Vivo (Xingu Alive Movement) Semas – Secretaria de Estado de Meio Ambiente e Sustentabilidade do Pará (Environment and Sustainability Department of the Pará State Government) TI – Terra Indígena (Indigenous Land) TJ-PA – Tribunal de Justiça do Pará (Court of Justice of the State of Pará) *Marcel Gomes is a journalist and coordinator of the NGO Repórter Brasil.
    [Show full text]