Date: Tue, 02 Sep 1997 08:26:12 -0700 Subject: [Fwd: FIAT/ALCAN DAM THREATENS BRAZILIAN COMMUNITY] X-Sender: glen@pop.cba.nutecnet.com.br Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 17:10:56 -0400 From: glen@nutecnet.com.br (Glenn Switkes) Subject: FIAT/ALCAN DAM THREATENS BRAZILIAN COMMUNITY Dear Friends: We are sending you this general information regarding the proposed Pilar Dam in Minas Gerais, Brazil, in hopes that you may help us identify NGOs in Canada and Italy who might be willing to collaborate in a letter-writing campaign to the heads of Alcan and Fiat to express concern regarding this project. Our feeling is that action on the international level will elevate the profile of messages directed to local authorities in the region. We appreciate your suggestions. Best regards, Glenn Switkes ------------------------- Pilar Hydroelectric Dam Alert (Brazil) FIAT and ALCAN have formed a consortium (75 and 25%, respectively) and proposed construction of a large hydroelectric dam - UHE Pilar - on the Piranga River, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, approximately 380 km. north of Rio de Janeiro. At a public hearing requested by the environmental NGO, ASPARPI, and held on May 16, 1997, in the city of Ponte Nova, with the presence of nearly 500 people, major environmental and social impacts of this project were highly criticized by representatives of the 133 families who are directly affected, local private and public agencies and researchers of the Federal University of Vi=E7osa. The Environmental Impact Study (EIA) and statements in opposition and support of this project are now under review by technical staff of the state government's Environmental Agency - FEAM - which will soon make its recommendation to the State Environmental Policy Council - COPAM, which decides whether or not to accept the EIA and grant the crucial Preliminary License (LP). ASPARPI and the local association of people affected by Pilar - ACMAP - as well as a group of university researchers and many other local groups - have recommended disapproval of the EIA. However FIAT and ALCAN have enormous economic and political lobbying influence at the State and =46ederal government levels in Brazil, in the context of the neoliberal policy of privatization of the electric sector. We desperately need your support to help us convince State government officials that UHE Pilar is a destructive dam project with major negative environmental and social impacts and, therefore, that the LP should be denied. Pilar would be a large dam, with a height of 67 m and a lake 28 km long, holding approximately 344 million liters of water. The dam would be located only 13 km from the city of Ponte Nova (population of more than 60,000 inhabitants) and at a height 96 m above that of the city's main Catholic church, thus causing permanent anxiety of the population concerning the risk of rupture and deluge. The dam's installed capacity would be up to 170 MW. The environmental impacts would be severe. The EIA underestimates the intensity of the changes in the characteristics of the water in the lake and in the Piranga River during the period of lake formation, as well as the effects of a very sharp reduction in the rate of flow and water level of the Piranga River, source of water of the city of Ponte Nova, local riverine populations and the Rio Doce forest reserve. During the 40 days of lake formation, when the rate of flow should be 20 m3 per second, equivalent to 20 % of average rate of flow, 20 km. of the river would have a rate of flow of merely 5 m3 per second, which corresponds to 5 % of average rate of flow, causing very sharp fluctuations in the water level on a daily basis. A similar effect would occur during the period following lake formation, as well as during dam operation, as a result of the "modulation" system used by hydroelectric dams in Brazil. The rare and nearly extinct surubi of the rio Doce, whose adaptation to the area to be transformed into a lake remains a mystery, would disappear, as would most ictiofauna downstream. During the dam's operation, the natural increase in sewage received by the Piranga River, combined with a rate of flow which would be sharply reduced to 5 m3/sec. in the dry season, would severely aggravate the river's pollution and contamination. The risk of increased incidence of schistossomose - endemic in the region - and other water-borne diseases would be great. The environmental and social impacts in the rural area would also be severe. The EIA provides an extremely inaccurate profile of the family agriculture practiced by the 133 families who would be dispossessed, underestimating agricultural production, productivity and market integration and, therefore erroneously concluding that individual and regional socioeconomic impacts would be minimal. In fact, despite the hilly terrain, 40 % of available land is suited for agriculture - well above the level of the Zona da Mata region as a whole - and the fertile riverine wetlands farmed by these families have provided favorable food consumption and nutritional levels. Thus, dispossession would be extremely prejudicial to this family farming system, as well as seriously disruptive of the the social fabric, characterized by generations of close family ties and rich cultural traditions. Finally, the vague proposals for resettlement of property owners and compensation for sharecroppers and other non-owners were prepared without adequate participation of the oustee population, do not provide conditions for the reconstruction of the social and productive systems of the affected families and would likely contribute to rural-urban migration, thus increasing the number of the landless and compounding urban social and economic problems in the region. The uncertainty about their future has already caused a great deal of anxiety among the affected families, who are well aware of the recent suicide of an oustee of another dam project in the region, following negotiations after LP approval. In the light of these serious environmental and social impacts which would be caused by the Pilar Dam, we urge you to take immediate action, by contacting Brazilian State government officials (see addresses below) and urging them to disapprove the EIA, deny the Preliminary License (LP) and discourage the ALCAN-FIAT consortium from pursuing this or future proposals to build the dam at this site. Sincerely, Jos=E9 Roberto Fontes Castro, President ASPARPI (Associa=E7=E3o dos Pescadores e Amigos do Rio Piranga) Geraldo Pinto Moreira, President ACMAP (Associa=E7=E3o Comunit=E1ria dos Moradores Atingidos por Pilar) Send FAX messages or telegrams to: Jos=E9 Carlos Carvalho Presidente do COPAM e Secret=E1rio de Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Susten= t=E1vel Av. Prudente de Morais, 1671 30.380-000 Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil =46AX: (031) 344-0246; Telefax: (031) 342-1265 and Presidente da C=E2mara de Bacias Hidrogr=E1ficas COPAM Governo do Estado de Minas Gerais a/c FEAM Av. Prudente de Morais, 1671 30.380-000 Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil =46AX: (031) 344-0246; Telefax: (031) 342-1265 Send a copy of these messages, as well as letters or other messages expressing solidarity with ASPARPI and/or ACMAP, to: Jos=E9 Roberto Fontes Castro, President ASPARPI Caixa Postal 09 Ponte Nova, MG 35430-000 - Brasil Telefax: (031) 817-3046 =0CUsina Hidrel=E9trica Pilar: Grito de Alerta As empresas FIAT e ALCAN formaram um cons=F3rcio (75 e 25%, respectivamente) e solicitaram licenciamento ambiental para a constru=E7=E3o= de uma grande usina hidrel=E9trica - UHE Pilar, no rio Piranga, no Estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil, localizada aproximadamente 380 km ao norte do Rio de Janeiro. A ONG ambientalista ASPARPI solicitou audi=EAncia p=FAblica, a qual foi realizada no dia 16 de maio passado, na cidade de Ponte Nova, com a presen=E7a de quase 500 pessoas. Na ocasi=E3o, foram denunciados diversos impactos s=F3cio-ambientais negativos pelos representativos dos 133 fam=EDli= as diretamente afetadas, entidades privadas e p=FAblicas locais e pesquisadores da Universidade Federal de Vi=E7osa. O Estudo de Impacto Ambiental (EIA) e declara=E7=F5es e pareceres t=E9cnicos a favor e contra o projeto est=E3o se= ndo analisados pelos t=E9cnicos da Ag=EAncia Estadual de Meio Ambiente - FEAM - = a qual em breve vai repassar suas recomenda=E7=F5es para o Conselho Estadual d= e Pol=EDtica Ambiental - COPAM - a qual tomar=E1 a decis=E3o a respeito da aprova=E7=E3o ou n=E3o do EIA e a concess=E3o da Licen=E7a Pr=E9via (LP). ASPARPI e ACMAP - a associa=E7=E3o local de pessoas atingidas pela = UHE Pilar - bem como outros grupos locais e pesquisadores universit=E1rios - t= =EAm recomendado o indeferimento do EIA. No entanto, a FIAT e a ALCAN possuem grande influ=EAncia econ=F4mica e pol=EDtica nos Governos Estadual e= Federal, no contexto das pol=EDticas neoliberais, como a privatiza=E7=E3o do setor el=E9= trico. Sendo assim, precisamos desesperadamente de seu apoio para nos ajudar a convencer os oficiais do governo de que a UHE Pilar trata de uma hidrel=E9trica destrutiva, tendo grandes impactos s=F3cio-ambientais negativ= os e que, portanto, n=E3o dever=E1 ser concedida a LP. Pilar seria uma grande barragem, com altura de 67 m. O lago da barragem ter=E1 28 km de extens=E3o, num n=EDvel de 96 metros acima da igreja-matriz, armazenando 344 milh=F5es de litros d'=E1gua. A proximidade dessa montanha d'=E1gua a apenas 13 km da cidade de Ponte Nova significa intranq=FCilidade permanente para a popula=E7=E3o de mais de 60.000= habitantes. A capacidade instalada de gera=E7=E3o de energia el=E9trica seria de at=E9 170= MW. Os impactos ambientais seriam s=E9rias. O EIA subestima a intensidad= e das altera=E7=F5es nas caracter=EDsticas da =E1gua do reservat=F3rio e do= rio Piranga durante o per=EDodo de forma=E7=E3o do lago, bem como os efeitos de uma redu= =E7=E3o acentuada na vaz=E3o e do n=EDvel d'=E1gua do rio Piranga, manancial da= cidade de Ponte Nova, de povos ribeirinhos e do parque florestal do rio Doce, j=E1 com nome de rio Doce. Principalmente nos 40 dias previsto para o enchimento do reservat=F3rio, quando a vaz=E3o dever=E1 ser de 20 m3 por segundo, igual a = 20% da m=E9dia, e p=F3s-enchimento, 20 km. do rio passaria a ter a vaz=E3o de 5 = m3 por segundo, o que corresponde a 5% da vaz=E3o m=E9dia, e durante o funcionamento da usina, pelo sistema de "modula=E7=E3o" praticado pelas UHEs= no Brasil, oscilando dr=E1stica e diaramente o n=EDvel do rio. No caso do rio Piranga, a oscila=E7=E3o promovida pela UHE Brecha (d= e 18 MW), da propriedade da ALCAN, participante do Cons=F3rcio Pilar, chega a um metro por dia, destruindo as esp=E9cies aqu=E1ticos, impedindo sua reprodu=E7=E3o. Sobre a irregularidade de vaz=E3o, existe documento de um engenheiro de muita experi=EAncia e conhecimento do assunto, protocolado na FEAM ap=F3s audi=EAncia p=FAblica realizada na cidade de Ponte Nova. O mist=E9rio da adapta=E7=E3o do raro e quase extinto surubi do rio = Doce ao local onde pretendem transformar em lago, n=E3o foi esclarecido no EIA. Com a constru=E7=E3o da barragem, essa esp=E9cie dever=E1 desaparecer, perma= necendo esse mist=E9rio sem explica=E7=E3o cient=EDfica. Muita da ictiofauna a jusan= te dever=E1 desaparecer tamb=E9m. No per=EDodo da opera=E7=E3o da barragem, o problema da polui=E7=E3o= e contamina=E7=E3o do rio Piranga seria agravado, devido =E0 redu=E7=E3o de= vaz=F5es e ao lan=E7amento crescente de efluentes. Os riscos de aumento de incid=EAncia de doen=E7as de veicula=E7=E3o h=EDdrica, numa regi=E3o sabidamente end=EAmica= para a esquistossomose, seriam muito grandes. Os impactos s=F3cio-ambientais no meio rural seriam s=E9rias tamb=E9= m. O EIA desvaloriza as propriedades das 133 fam=EDlias que ser=E3o os atingidos= e a agricultura familiar na regi=E3o, subestima a produ=E7=E3o agropecu=E1ria, a produtividade m=E9dia e a quantidade e o valor comercializado e, portanto, conclui, erroneamente, que a perda das terras teria pouco impacto negativo sobre a economia familiar e sobre a economia regional. De fato, apesar de a Zona da Mata ser uma regi=E3o muita declivosa, na =E1rea atingida h=E1 maior ocorr=EAncia de v=E1rzea e a fertilidade do solo e o bom padr=E3o de aliment= a=E7=E3o e nutri=E7=E3o da popula=E7=E3o atingida s=E3o ind=EDcios que as perdas de= produ=E7=E3o, de renda e do n=EDvel de vida dessas fam=EDlias que vivem da agricultura famili= ar, seriam grandes e irrevers=EDveis. Al=E9m do mais, a expropria=E7=E3o das fam= =EDlias atingidas provocar=E1 ruptura na vida e na organiza=E7=E3o social da comunid= ade, caracterizada por gera=E7=F5es de la=E7os de parentesco e ricas tradi=E7=F5e= s culturais. Em fim, as propostas vagas no EIA quanto ao reassentamento dos propriet=E1rios e =E0 compensa=E7=E3o para meeiros e outras categorias de n= =E3o propriet=E1rios, foram elaboradas sem a participa=E7=E3o efetiva da popula= =E7=E3o atingida, n=E3o oferecem a perspectiva de que o reassentamento conseguir=E1 reconstruir a vida social e produtiva da popula=E7=E3o atingida nos n=EDveis atuais e contribuiriam para o =EAxodo rural e o aumento do n=FAmero dos trabalhadores sem terra, assim agravando os problemas s=F3cio-econ=F4micos d= as cidades da regi=E3o. As incertezas e a ansiedade j=E1 provocam muita ang=FAs= tia entre as fam=EDlias atingidas, preocupa=E7=E3o essa que tornou dram=E1tica= com a ocorr=EAncia recente do suic=EDdio de um atingido de outro projeto de barrag= em na regi=E3o, ap=F3s as press=F5es das negocia=E7=F5es com a empresa. Tendo em vista a perspectiva desses impactos s=F3cio-ambientais negativos que seriam provocados pela obra da UHE Pilar, pedimos que voc=EAs comuniquem imediatamente com as autoridades p=FAblicas respons=E1veis (veja endere=E7os abaixo), recomendando o indeferimento do EIA, a n=E3o concess=E3= o da Licen=E7a Previa (LP) e desincentivando o cons=F3rcio ALCAN-FIAT em prossegu= ir com o projeto da UHE Pilar. Cordialmente, Jos=E9 Roberto Fontes Castro, Presidente ASPARPI (Associa=E7=E3o dos Pescadores e Amigos do Rio Piranga) Geraldo Pinto Moreira, Presidente ACMAP (Associa=E7=E3o Comunit=E1ria dos Moradores Atingidos por Pilar) Enviem mensagens via FAX ou telegramas para: Jos=E9 Carlos Carvalho Presidente do COPAM e Secret=E1rio de Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Susten= t=E1vel Governo do Estado de Minas Gerais Av. Prudente de Morais, 1671 30.380-000 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil =46AX: (031) 344-0246; Telefax: (031) 342-1265 e Presidente da C=E2mara de Bacias Hidrogr=E1ficas COPAM Governo do Estado de Minas Gerais a/c FEAM Av. Prudente de Morais, 1671 30.380-000 Belo Horizonte-MG, Brasil =46AX: (031) 344-0246; Telefax: (031) 342-1265 Enviem uma c=F3pia dessas mensagens, bem como cartas ou outras mensagens de solidariedade, para: Jos=E9 Roberto Fontes Castro, Presidente ASPARPI Caixa Postal 09 Ponte Nova, MG 35430-000 - Brasil Telefax: (031) 817-3046 =3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*= =3D*=3D* Glenn Switkes, Director, Latin America Program, International Rivers Network 1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703-1576, USA Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008 http://www.irn.org South America: Tel/Fax: +55 65 627 1689 =3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*=3D*= =3D*=3D*