Bolivia Under Waters

Dear Readers:

By the time you read this I will be off to somewhere in Bolivia where cyberspace does not reach, cut cold turkey from e-mail and from all things Blog. So I leave you with this thoughtful post from the Democracy Center's intrepid Yi-Ching Hwang, about the environmental dangers facing Bolivia from plans by neighboring Brazil to build two giant dams on the important river the two countries share, el Rio Madera.

This is, sadly, Yi-Ching's last post. Regular readers will remember her popular offering last August on dancing in Urkupina, with one of our most memorable Blog leads ever: "We all had to wear black underwear, not thongs, not tights, but black underwear. And one by one they checked us."

Our loss and yours will soon be some graduate school's gain.

I'll be back in this space again, eventually.

Jim Shultz

Bolivia Under Waters

In about 5 years, Bolivia’s northeastern department of Beni could be under waters.

Last August, while most attention in Bolivia was on the nationwide voter referendum, Brazil’s environmental licensing authority, IBAMA, silently granted permission for the construction of San Antonio dam, and opened the bid for Jirao dam, both to be located in the Brazilian city of Porto Velho, 112 miles from the Bolivian border.

Estimated to cost around 9 billion dollars, the project would construct two gigantic dams on the Madera River, with the aim of generating electricity for Brazil’s southern agribusinesses.

As a fast growing regional power, the construction of the dams would mean more production, further growth, and for sure an increased GDP for Brazil.

For Bolivia, however, the dams could signify the annihilation of diverse plants, animals and indigenous cultures, cities and towns under water, mass migration, destruction of plantations, an increase in flood-related diseases such as malaria and dengue, and finally, damage to the region’s ecosystem.

Proponents of the dams cite the possibility of river navigation and the advantage for both Brazilian and Bolivian soy growers to transport their grains more cheaply to Pacific ports.

In an interview conducted with La Razón, Marco Octavio Ribera, coordinator of the National League of Environmental Defense, explained, “The Madera River is the only confluence in Bolivia; it is the only exit, there is no other to eliminate the water of the Bolivian, Peruvian, and Brazilian Amazon.”

With 90% of all Bolivia’s water eventually flowing towards the Madera River, halting its flow would lead to disastrous consequences.

Another expert in the topic noted that the Madera River watershed originates in the Andes. Thus the immense amount of water is not just water, but carries with it “Andean sediments that in a few years would cover the reservoirs.”

Bolivia’s Foreign Secretary, David Choquehuanca, have repeatedly engaged with and insisted to Brazil its fears of the immense environmental damage likely to occur on Bolivian territory following the dams’ construction. Specifically, Choquehuanca beseeched Brazil to undertake environmental studies in Bolivia prior to initiating the environmental permit process.

Juan Pablo Ramos, Bolivia’s Vice Minister of Biodiversity and Natural Resources, remarked that Bolivia has requested that Brazil “stop the processing of the dams construction as long as the impacts [of the dams] are not known objectively and with veracity.”

Under Principle 12 as concluded in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development conducted in Río de Janeiro in 1992, “Environmental measures addressing transboundary or global environmental problems should, as far as possible, be based on an international consensus.”

Brazil, however, have not shown much interest in establishing such an ‘international consensus.’ In a report filed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Brazil’s response to Bolivia’s continual request was “under no point of view” will the construction be discontinued.

Last October, in a follow-up bilateral meeting held in La Paz, Bolivian technical specialists presented scientific findings supporting the theory that the two Brazilian dams would indeed cause a serious rise in water level, thus flooding Bolivian territory. To the surprise and dismay of the Bolivian participants, the Brazilian delegation not only did not arrive prepared with scientific data, were unable to answer questions posed to them, but also showed up an hour late and made rude comments.

In the face of a potential annihilation of a precious Amazonian area, not only are the local inhabitants and wildlife in danger, the world also risks losing yet another opportunity to reverse a decision where the damaging effects will go far beyond two countries and lasting well into future generations. International collaboration and strategic pressure from individuals, government officials, social movements, civil society, and organizations may still reverse Brazil’s decision to build the dams.

Written by Yi-Ching Hwang