Madeira River vista
(Wilson Dias, Agencia Brasil)
(Click above image for detailed map)
Area of influence of proposed hydroelectric
dams on the Madeira River
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"..The Madeira River is the Amazon's largest and most important tributary. Spanning about a quarter of the Brazilian Amazon, the Madeira Basin is a treasure trove of biodiversity, providing home to the spotted jaguar, giant otter, pink dolphin, and countless other endangered mammal species. The river teems with life – an estimated 750 fish species migrate some 4,500 km each year to spawn and feed in the...."
"....Two huge hydroelectric dams are planned – Santo Antonio (installed generating capacity 3,150 MW) and Jirau (3,300 MW)–at a total cost of nearly US$15 billion.
The dams have preliminary approval from environmental licensing agencies, and the Brazilian government plans to offer the first project to private investors by the end of 2007.
The projects would block the transport of sediment and the passage of fish and threaten the river’s unique biodiversity, affecting the land and livelihoods of thousands of river bank dwellers and indigenous people. The habitat of thirty–three endangered mammal species would be destroyed. And the Amazon’s most important tributary would no longer flow freely......"
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