John Vidal, environment editor
The Guardian, Monday 9 August 2010
Dams in Brazil, Ethiopia and Malaysia will force people off land and
destroy hunting grounds, says Survival International
Hydro dam site at Omo river, Ethiopia Construction begins on the Gibe III
hydroelectric dam in southern Ethiopia.
Giant hydroelectric dams being built or planned in remote areas of Brazil,
Ethiopia, Malaysia, Peru and Guyana will devastate tribal communities by
forcing people off their land or destroying hunting and fishing grounds,
according to a report by Survival International today.
The first global assessment of the impact of the dams on tribes suggests
more than 300,000 indigenous people could be pushed towards economic ruin
and, in the case of some isolated Brazilian groups, to extinction.
The dams are intended to provide much-needed,low-carbon electricity for
burgeoning cities, but the report says tribal people living in their
vicinity will gain little or nothing. Most of the power generated will be
taken by large industries, it concludes.
At least 200,000 people from eight tribes are threatened and a further
200,000 people will be adversely affected by the Gibe III dam on the Omo
river in Ethiopia. Ten thousand people in Sarawak, Malaysia, have been
displaced by the Bakun dam,which is expected to open next year, and a
series of Latin American dams could force many thousands of people off
their land.
The authors say enthusiasm for large dams is resurfacing, driven by a
powerful international lobby presenting them as a significant solution to
climate change. Lyndsay Duffield, said: "The lessons learned [about the
human impact of large dams]last century are being ignored, and tribal
peoples worldwide are again being sidelined, their rights violated and
their lands destroyed."
The report says the World Bank is one of the biggest funders of
destructive dams, despite worldwide criticism in the 1990s for supporting
such projects. Its portfolio now stands at $11bn, with funding up more
than 50% on 1997.
The UN now subsidises dam building via the clean development mechanism
(CDM), which allows rich countries to offset their greenhouse gas
emissions by investing in clean energy in poor countries. The watchdog
group CDM Watch says more than a third of all CDM-registered projects in
2008 were for hydropower, making them the most common type of project
vying for carbon credits.
Concern is growing over the role of China, now the world's largest builder
and funder of big dams. The Three Gorges Corporation, firm behind the
controversial Three Gorges dam, which has displaced more than a million
people from around the Yangtze river in the last 20 years, has been
contracted to build a dam on the land of the Penan tribe in Sarawak.
China's biggest state bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,
may fund Gibe III in Ethiopia, to be Africa's tallest. The Chinese
government has financed the majority of dams built in China, which account
for about half the global total of large dams.
The report says tribes have borne the brunt of the development over the
last 30 years. In India, at least 40% of people displaced by dams and
other developmentprojects are tribal, though they make up just 8% of the
country's population. Almost all of the large dams built or proposed in
the Philippines have been on the land of the country's indigenous people.
The report accuses banks and dam builders of consistently underestimating
the number of tribal people affected. "There is an endemic tendency within
the dam industry to significantly underestimate the number of people to be
affected by their projects," it says.
"The World Bank's review of big dam projects over 10 years found that the
number of people actually evicted was nearly 50% higher than the planning
estimates."
Survival International called for all hydroelectric dams on tribal
peoples' land to be halted unless the tribes have given full consent. "In
the case of isolated or uncontacted tribes, where consultation is not
possible, there should be no development of hydroelectric dams on their
territories," it said.
Danger dams:
Ethiopia The Gibe III dam on the Omo river in Ethiopia threatens about
200,000 people from eight tribes in the Lower Omo valley. The dam will
disrupt the annual flood the tribes rely on, destroying their livelihoods
and leaving them vulnerable to famine. On the other side of the border in
Kenya, 300,000 people who live on the banks of Lake Turkana will also be
affected.
Brazil A series of dams is planned for the river Madeira. The Jirau and
Santo Antonio dams will affect many tribes, including uncontacted groups
known to live a few miles from one site. The Belo Monte mega-dam on the
Xingu river would be the third largest in the world, and would devastate a
huge area. Kayap� Indians and other tribes of the area have been
protesting against the dam since it was proposed in the 1980s.
Malaysia The Bakun dam in Sarawak, due to be completed this year, has
displaced 10,000 tribal people, including many semi-nomadic Penan
tribespeople. The relocated Penan now cannot hunt, and struggle to support
themselves on tiny plots of land. Sarawak plans 12 more hydroelectric
dams, which will force thousands more people to move.
Peru Six dams have been proposed which would flood land along the river
Ene, home of the Ash�ninka, the largest indigenous group in Peru.
Guyana More large dams are planned for the north of Brazil and southern
Guyana, including the controversial Upper Mazaruni dam which was stopped
after protests but is likely to be revived.
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