Deforested area in the border of Xingu river, 140km from Anapu, state of Para, northern Brazil, in the Amazon rain forest. AP

BBC
26 August 2010 Brazil’s government has given the formal go-ahead for the building on a tributary of the Amazon of the world’s third biggest hydroelectric dam. After several failed legal challenges, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed the contract for the Belo Monte dam with the Norte Energia consortium. Critics say the project will damage the local ecosystem and make homeless 50,000 mainly indigenous people. But the government says it is crucial for development and will create jobs. Bidding for the project had to be halted three times before a final court appeal by the government allowed Norte Energia, led by the state-owned Companhia Hidro Eletrica do Sao Francisco, to be awarded the contract.  … “The government has signed a death warrant for the Xingu river and condemned thousands of residents to expulsion,” local Indian leaders said on Thursday. The 11,000 MW dam would be third largest in the world, after the Three Gorges in China and Itaipu, which is jointly run by Brazil and Paraguay. …

Brazil green light for Amazon dam