(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
The 4. On August, the Brazilian Environment Directorate Ibama rejected the application that would have opened for the construction of a new giant hydroelectric power plant on the Tapajós River in the state of Pará. The following day, all the world's eyes were on Brazil and the opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. Rainforest conservation and the environment were central to the colorful ceremony, but it can still not be said that this year's Olympic summer games provided some green gain to Brazil.
In the Amazon, thousands of kilometers further north, it was the corrupt and state-controlled company Eletrobras that wanted to dam the Tapajós River and build a plant with a capacity of 8000 MW of electricity. In comparison, Norway's largest hydropower plant Tonstad power plant in Sirdal in Vest-Agder produces 960 MW, while the world's third largest hydropower plant, Belo Monte, which is also located in the state of Pará, has a capacity of 11 MW of electricity.
Forced relocation. The areas around the Tapajós River were once called Mundurukania, and this was the territory of the Munduruku people. But ever since the first contact with the Portuguese in the 18th century, the Munduruku Indians have had to fight hard to get the Brazilian state to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples to the area, which has been home to their ancestors for centuries. If the dam had been given the green light, indigenous peoples would have been forcibly relocated, and this was also taken into account in the refusal. Today, the Munduruku people number around 12 people.
"We are just excited about this news. This is very important to us. Now we must continue to fight against other dam projects in our river, "said Arnaldo Kabá Munduruku, chief and spokesman for the Munduruku people. On August 19, he was in London to mobilize international supporters, such as artist Annie Lennox and designer Vivienne Westwood. The Munduruku Indians are asking for help in maintaining pressure on the Brazilian government, which has over 40 other hydropower plants on the drawing board. The Tapajos dam, for example, was among the projects that President Michel Temer wanted to prioritize, and Ibama's decision is therefore a defeat for Temer.
But the rejection from Ibama states, among other things, that the application is rejected because the construction of the dam would lead to 400 square kilometers of rainforest having to be submerged, and an area of 2200 square kilometers would be cut down and cleared of forest, a total area the size of Vestfold . Ibama thought the application was too deficient, and does not see that the power plant has solutions to the environmental problems the project would cause. It would pollute the groundwater and damage the rich biological diversity in the area, especially endangered species such as turtles, crocodiles and mammals in the river, the decision states.
"The Brazilian authorities have not done anything to keep the promises made in connection with the Olympics."
The economic crisis affecting Brazil has probably also affected the outcome. The need for energy is no longer as dire, and renewable energy has become cheaper. Greenpeace, which has been involved in the fight against development, believes that Brazil will be able to cover the country's energy needs in better and more stable ways than destroying the Tapajós River.
"We have calculated that solar energy, wind energy and biomass in different combinations will be able to deliver the same amount of energy as the São Luiz do Tapajós project," said Greenpeace leader Truls Gulowsen in a press release.
The Achilles' heel. In the Olympic city of Rio, it became clear early on that the environmental promises made ahead of the Games would never be fulfilled. In the local environmental movement, there is broad agreement that the organizer took a golden chance to take home a long list of victories on the environmental side.
When the Olympic application was submitted, Rio de Janeiro, for example, promised to clean 80 percent of the sewage that flows into the heavily polluted Guanabara Bay. But in 2015, Governor Luiz Fernando Pezäo threw in the towel and blamed the lack of money. Two months before the Olympics, the state declared bankruptcy.
Biologist Mario Moscatelli, who has been following the conditions in Guanabara Bay for years, blames incompetent politicians and poor priorities.
"The Brazilian authorities have not done anything to keep the promises made in connection with the Olympics. They knew how bad the conditions were, and yet have only implemented measures that in no way correspond to the extent of the problem. The bay is a single large latrine, and we are ashamed of it. But it is not true that lack of resources is the cause. "The government has spent $ 1,8 billion over the last 20 years, but the funds have simply been spent in a miserable way," Moscatelli told Ny Tid.
During the Olympics, twelve boats collected liquid rubbish in the bay. On the competition days for the sailors, these boats picked up rubbish from six in the morning until eleven in the morning. Ecological barriers have also been set up on several of the rivers that flow into the bay, to prevent the rubbish from flowing freely. Sewage treatment plants have been built, but never put into operation, and waste management in the municipalities around the bay is still very deficient.
"Since August 2015, the boats have collected about 40 tonnes of liquid rubbish a month," says ProOceano's director, Leonardo Marques da Cruz, who operates the rubbish boats.
During the Olympics, Norway's Consul General in Rio Sissel invited Hodne Steen to a reception for the Norwegian Olympic squad, where the sailors and Crown Prince Haakon were among the guests. None of the sailors had anything bad to say about the water quality this time, and Steen praised Brazil for using the opening ceremony to focus on climate change. Rainforest conservation and climate are central to bilateral cooperation between Norway and Brazil, and it is important for Norway that Brazil shows that they take the climate issue seriously.
"Rio uses the toys to share a message about our common future. Brazil, with the largest forests and the largest biological diversity in the world, is the right place to spread this message from, "she believes.
Unfortunately, the latest deforestation figures from the Amazon are still gloomy reading. According to the Imazon Institute, they show an increase of 34 percent compared with similar figures from 2015.
The decision to shelve plans for a new hydropower plant on the Tapajós River is therefore the biggest victory the Amazon has recorded in a long time.
