Temporary ban on new hydro dams in the Brazilian Pantanal
Good news from Brazil! The National Water Agency (ANA) has stopped issuing new permits for the construction of hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Paraguay river basin, which is part of the Pantanal wetlands in South-America. The suspension will last at least until May 2020, after the publication of a comprehensive socio-economic and environmental impact assessment that the ANA started in 2016.
The suspension is viewed as a huge success by Instituto Gaia, a long-time partner of Both ENDS in Brazil, who has been trying to halt the destructive construction of hydro dams in the Pantanal for many years. Through their persistent and tireless lobby, advocacy and awareness-raising activities the members of the organisation -mostly volunteers- have, without doubt, contributed to this fantastic outcome.
The world's second largest freshwater Wetland
The Pantanal is the world's second largest freshwater wetland with an extremely rich biodiversity. Tourism and fishing are the main sources of income for the local population. This enormous ecosystem is invaluable for the water management of a big part of the continent, stretching all the way down to the Argentinian La Plata area, some 1.500km away.
The threats of hydro dams
One of the biggest threats to the Pantanal is the planned construction of over 150 small dams in the rivers that are part of the wetland. These dams are used to produce energy and thus are a lucrative investment. However, most of this energy is not even meant for the local population, but goes straight to the big cities in the rest of the country or is even sold abroad. The construction of these dams has an enormously detrimental impact on the entire fragile wetland and the social fabric of the area. By stopping the free flow of the rivers, the dams destroy invaluable river ecosystems for example by hindering the movement and breeding of fish and other species. Furthermore, the necessary construction work of the dams and their embankments lead to massive loss of unique biodiversity and affect thousands of river adjacent communities who depends on a healthy river landscape for their income.
Social and environmental criteria
The regional governments are required to hold public hearings before the licensing of new dams is granted. But given that these processes are often not carried out correctly, the local groups who oppose the construction of new dams have over the past years managed to successfully disrupt and halt a number of these hearings by mobilising the local people likely to be affected by their construction. According to the local groups, the licensing processes and the hearings are not only often following faulty procedures but until now also frequently rely on inadequate social- and environmental impact assessments. But according to the local authority in the Pantanal area, the new studies by the ANA could improve their procedures and project licensing criteria. This could mean that in the future, hydro projects in order to be given the green light, they would have to meet stricter social and environmental criteria. This would be a hugely important step in securing the future of the health of the entire Pantanal area.
Wetlands without Borders
Both ENDS started actively supporting local organisations striving to protect the Pantanal – such as Instituto Gaia - in 1994. This has culminated in a large, long-term programme in four countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina) which supports local organisations in their efforts to protect the entire Rio de la Plata Basin of which the Pantanal is part. This unique programme is called 'Wetlands without Borders' and is funded by DOB Ecology.
The article about this news in 'Globo.com' (in Portuguese)
For more information
Read more about this subject
-
Dossier
Wetlands without Borders
With our Wetlands without Borders program, we work towards environmentally sustainable and socially responsible governance of the wetlands system of the La Plata Basin in South America.
-
Transformative Practice
A Negotiated Approach for Inclusive Water Governance
A Negotiated Approach envisages the meaningful and long-term participation of communities in all aspects of managing the water and other natural resources on which their lives depend. It seeks to achieve healthy ecosystems and equitable sharing of benefits among all stakeholders within a river basin. This inclusive way of working is an essential precondition for the Transformative Practices that are promoted by Both ENDS and partners.
-
Dossier
Large-scale infrastructure
Large-scale infrastructural projects have detrimental effects on local people and the environment, while their benefits are felt elsewhere. Both ENDS is working to ensure that local people have a greater say in decision-making and is investigating the way these projects are funded.
-
News / 13 April 2015
The Pantanal, the world’s largest waterland, is under serious threat
For several decades, Both ENDS has been closely following the developments in this large water area in the centre of South America. We work closely with organisations which aim to ensure that the local population knows about these developments and, if necessary, protect it from these changes. But why is this area both so special and important for the whole of South America? And what exactly is threatening this area? C. Cornell Evers, independent photographer and writer, spoke with Tamara Mohr of Both ENDS and Sander van Andel of IUCN to find answers. The result of this meeting is an interesting interview.
-
News / 16 August 2016
Art as a powerful messenger: music from the Pantanal
10 songs: that is the result of a 4 day long, 450 km boat trip through the Pantanal with 36 people. The project Pantanal Poética sought and found a new way to look at the Pantanal, a valuable but threatened nature reserve on the border of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.
-
Event / 23 March 2023, 09:00 - 11:00
Towards just water governance in Colombia; a dialogue on the Transformative Water Pact
Online side event at the UN Water conference in New York
This event will present The Transformative Water Pact (TWP), an innovative framework for water governance that has been developed by environmental justice experts from around the world. The TWP will serve as a starting point for dialogue between representatives of the government of Colombia, academia, regional and international NGOs in relation to Colombia's current ambitions in multi-scalar water governance.
-
News / 2 November 2015
Not soy, but music in the Brazilian Pantanal!
The Pantanal, in the heart of South America, at the border of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, is the world’s largest freshwater wetland with an extremely rich biodiversity. Tourism and fishing are the main sources of income for the local population. This enormous natural area is invaluable for the water management of a large part of the continent, stretching all the way down to the Argentinian La Plata area, some 1,500 kilometres away. The area faces many threats and Both ENDS therefore already started actively supporting local organisations striving to protect the Pantanal in 1994.
-
Publication / 21 March 2023
-
Press release / 20 March 2023
A Transformative Water Pact : A radical response to the global water governance crisis
Academics and civil society representatives from around the world came together to articulate an alternative vision and framework for water governance, in the run-up to the UN Water Conference 2023 in New York. The Transformative Water Pact was developed in response to the continued exploitation of nature, neglect of human rights and the extreme power-imbalances that characterize contemporary water governance throughout the world. It details an alternative vision of water governance based on the tenets of environmental justice, equality and care.
-
Publication / 2 December 2014
-
News / 2 July 2019
‘Like Fish on Land’: testimonies from people in Uganda and Laos after being displaced
In the Nam Ou river in Northern Laos, seven dams are built by a Chinese company. All over the world one can see the same picture when it comes to hydropower projects: it has devastating impacts on the people living in or around the area where they are being built, primarily because they are being displaced. It seems that displacement of communities is still accepted as the unavoidable collateral damage of infrastructure projects. This reveals a highly unacceptable attitude towards poor communities in whose name development is proceeding. In Laos, our Laotian partner visited communities along the river to talk with people about their life after displacement:
-
Publication / 29 May 2019
-
Publication / 5 December 2012
-
News / 4 August 2017
Nicaragua Canal undermines human rights
A report published yesterday by Amnesty Central America shows that the plans for a new canal leads to numerous violations of human rights in Nicaragua. And that's even before the works have started. Many organisations therefore protest against the canal, supported by Both ENDS.
-
External link / 20 January 2022
Wetlands without Borders
The Wetlands without Borders programme aims to preserve the biodiversity of the La Plata Basin and the sustainable livelihoods of its communities. Preservation of the La Plata Basin is essential for protecting the region from flood and drought, and preserving the quality of life of its inhabitants. Click here for the programme's website and for the latest information.
-
News / 21 March 2023
Agua es vida: Both ENDS and water governance
Water is literally life, the lifeblood of ecosystems, of nature, of humans. However, in many places the distribution and use of water is unjust and unsustainable. Water management is generally focused on short-term economic interests, on maximizing the profit of a well-connected few at the expense of people and nature. This dominant view of water and water management has its origins in the European industrial revolution, which became the global norm through colonialism and globalization. But according to Melvin van der Veen and Murtah Shannon, water experts at Both ENDS, this view will have to give way to equitable, sustainable and inclusive water management. Both ENDS cooperates with and supports communities and organisations worldwide who are working to this end.
-
Dossier
Inclusive ways to sustainable and healthy food for all
All around the world small-scale farmers are using sustainable and inclusive methods to produce food. Working together with nature and each other, they provide their families and communities with sufficient and healthy food. But their production methods are under pressure from large-scale agriculture and the globally dominant system of industrial food production. Together with our partners, Both ENDS is trying to turn the tide in favour of sustainable, local practices that are mostly known as 'agro-ecological' or 'nature-inclusive'. Why are we focusing on these methods? Agro-ecological practices are climate-proof and inclusive and increase the opportunities for communities around the world to produce their food sustainably.
-
Blog / 16 June 2020
The political and industrial elites in Indonesia grasp their opportunity
In September 2019, the streets of Jakarta were filled with angry demonstrators protesting against the Omnibus Employment Law. The law will ease the rules for mining, make it much more difficult to hold companies liable for criminal acts and severely restrict the power of the national anti-corruption committee. At the moment, such protests are completely impossible in Indonesia because of the COVID-19 crisis and the associated lockdown measures. And Indonesian people already had few other means of exerting influence on decision-making and legislative processes.
-
External link / 19 June 2020
Faith and life in a wetland without borders (Annual Report 2019)
A popular committee succeeded in preventing a licence for a hydrodam in the river Jauquara, Brazil. Building a transnational people's movement to protect the wetland ecosystem: that's what the Wetlands Without Borders programme is all about. "Being connected provides a lifeline for communities."
-
Blog / 2 February 2022
On World Wetlands Day communities throughout the La Plata Basin are asking for support in their fight for their endangered wetland ecosystems
By Eva SchmitzThe new year has barely begun but already record high summer temperatures are being reported in parts of South America, especially Argentina, Paraguay and Southern Brazil. The latest heatwave, with temperatures of up to 45C, arrives on top of two years of severe drought which had a devastating effect on the entire region. It is a painful reminder of the immediacy of climate change and emblematic for what happens when vital ecosystems are not protected and for the catastrophic consequences as much on already endangered wildlife as on the local communities who depend on them for their livelihoods. One of the most affected areas are the regions wetlands – unique ecosystems, which are crucial ecological pressure points, vital for the regulation of river systems and huge carbon sinks. Their loss not only has ecological impacts but affects thousands of local communities which depend on their health for fishing, tourism and local agriculture. The threat to them by for example droughts and fires, can be directly linked to the large-scale production of soy, produced mainly for export. This in turn means responsibility for what is happening in the region needs to be acknowledged and shared by leaders around the world, and especially large importers such as the Netherlands.