Brazil to Build Dams Despite Bolivian Concerns

Despite Bolivian concerns about the environmental impact of two dams slated for construction in the Amazon region, Brazil’s foreign minister said Friday they would be built as planned.

The US$11.6 billion hydroelectric plants near the Bolivian border could become the latest in a series of bilateral disputes that began when Bolivia nationalized its gas industry in May last year, forcing Brazil to pay more for natural gas.
Among the 33 requirements imposed by environmental agency Ibama are impact studies on biodiversity and possible silt accumulation along the rivers.

With a total capacity of 6,500 megawatts, the two dams are seen as key to Brazil’s power generation growth and economic development in the next decade.

Environmental activists say they would flood vast areas, including parts of Bolivia and Peru; spread malaria and other water-borne diseases; and destroy migrating fish, bird and animal wildlife and swathes of rain forest.

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