ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The Belo Monte Dam endangers the Zebra Pleco and the lives of thousands of people

Updated on September 11, 2013

Belo Monte Dam - a threat to life

The Belo Monte Dam threatens life in the Amazon region, from the lives of all the indigenous people who will lose their homes and livelihoods to unique species of wildlife. The very rare black and white Zebra Pleco fish being one example of an animal endangered by this vast construction scheme.

Plans for the Belo Monte Dam were first talked about way back in 1975 and then put on the shelf due to objections. They were being looked at again in the 1990s and over the last decade, and sadly it has led to Norte Energia signing a contract on 26 August ,2010, to build the Belo Monte Dam.

There has been enormous opposition all the way with regard to this massive hydroelectric dam, which it is said will provide for much of the energy needs of a fast-developing Brazil. But not everyone is convinced that it will do so but rather will be an incredible waste of money and cause untold environmental destruction to the area and ruin the lives of thousands of indigenous people. Unfortunately despite the ongoing protests, it currently looks as if the Belo Monte Dam is going to be created no matter what anyone thinks and no matter how much it destroys.

Nevertheless, the building of the Belo Monte Dam has been stopped in the past, but can it be stopped again and for good?

Zebra Pleco (Hypancistrus zebra) photo by Birger A
Zebra Pleco (Hypancistrus zebra) photo by Birger A | Source

Zebra Pleco could become extinct in the wild

The Zebra Pleco (Hypancistrus zebra) is a very unique and rare tropical catfish that could become extinct in the wild if the Belo Monte Dam is constructed in Brazil. If this dam is built not only will it bring an end to the way of life of thousands of indigenous tribal people who have lived in the area of the Xingu River, which flows into the mighty Amazon, but is a very serious threat to wildlife and biodiversity.

The black and white-patterned Zebra Pleco is just one endemic species only found in that area that is likely to die out if the dam is made. The Sunshine Pleco (Scobinancistrus aureatus), the Slender Dwarf Pike Cichlid (Teleocichla centisquama), the Plant-eating Piranha (Ossubtus xinguense) and the Xingu Dart-Poison frog (Allobates crombiei) are other endangered species.

It is estimated that hundreds of endemic species will die out because of this but no one really knows how many plants and animals are affected. It is impossible to know what you will be killing if you destroy a large rainforest and divert and drastically diminish the normal flow of a river.

Any species of fish or other animals that need to migrate up and down the river will no longer be able to do so as they have in the past.

Zebra pleco, Hypancistrus zebra living in Rio Xingu biotope aquarium

Belo Monte Dam believed to constitute Fair Use
Belo Monte Dam believed to constitute Fair Use | Source

Biodiversity destroyed

The problem is that the Belo Monte Dam if constructed will create two vast reservoirs and canals and, in so doing, flood 668 square kilometres, 400 of which will be rainforest. In addition to this the normal flow of the river will be destroyed because as much as 80% of it will be diverted away from where it normally runs.

This is bound to have devastating effects on the biodiversity of the area as well as destroying the livelihoods of the Juruna and Arana indigenous people who live there. The Xingu River's "Big Bend" will experience a permanent drought.

Over 20,000 people from Alatmira and Vitoria do Xingu will have to leave their homes and take their chances elsewhere.

Furthermore it is estimated that as many as 100,000 migrant workers will come to the area but there will only be some 40,000 jobs at the height of the Belo Monte Dam's construction, and of these only 2,000 will be long term employment. This will mean that many of these people will turn to illegal logging, cattle ranching and other unsustainable industries, thus destroying even more of the Amazon's precious rainforests. They will be rivals for work and resources with the displaced indigenous people too and this is sure to cause social tension and problems.

Methane and Global Warming

Philip Fearnside of the National Amazon Research Institute has realised that incredible volumes of methane gas are sure to be generated by the forests of decaying vegetation flooded to create the Belo Monte reservoirs and canals.

Our planet is already suffering badly from the early stages of Global Warming and we need to drastically cut down on greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere. Methane, which is such a gas, is 25 times worse than carbon dioxide, the one that most people are talking about having to reduce.

Scientists have long pointed out so often that the rainforests are the "lungs" of the planet and help regulate the amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The Belo Monte Dam by destroying more forest will make a very bad situation even worse!

Belo Monte Dam protest campaigns

There have been many campaigns to halt the construction of the Belo Monte Dam. Over 600 protesters, mainly members of the indigenous tribes threatened by it, as well as environmental activists occupied the construction site for the dam until their protest was ended by a judge who ordered their eviction.

Amazon Watch is an organisation that monitors all threats to the Amazon and publishes updates of news and campaigns on its website. It has an ongoing petition to Stop the Belo Monte Dam.

David de Rothschild MYOO ARTiculate 3° 17' S, 52° 12' W - Mission Overview

David de Rothschild and MYOO

Adventurer, author and environmentalist David de Rothschild, who only last year sailed his Plastiki catamaran made of 12,500 plastic bottles across the Pacific to raise awareness of plastic pollution, has just been on another expedition. David went to the Amazon to the Xingu River in November to see the Belo Monte Dam situation for himself and report on it. via his MYOO website and elsewhere.

Working in alliance with Amazon Watch, David and his team are seeking to raise awareness of the issue raised by the dam and having a look at what we stand to lose if it is made. Speaking on his MYOO ARTiculate video diary referring to the outcome of a 20-year battle to stop the dam he says "common sense obviously failed." David and the MYOO team intend using art, sculptures and photography to comment on this matter.

What does the future hold in store? Only time will tell but so many of us are praying for a miracle that will stop the Belo Monte Dam for good!

A Last Stand for the Xingu

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)