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