Dams and Hydroelectric Power in the Amazon
Geographical location:
Latin America/Caribbean > LAC General
Latin America/Caribbean > South America > Bolivia
Summary
The documentary video proposal is fully consistent with overall WWF activities planned for the region as supported by WWF Italy and Blue Moon funds. By producing a documentary combining images and testimonies on the “piracema” migration and the native communities that are tied to this species’ survival and the Madeira river’s seasonal changes, we hope to provide a compelling case for why environmental and social considerations should be heavily weighed during the decision-making process of building the dams.
This documentary will also serve a as an example of the challenges native people and species face from dams being constructed or planned all across the Amazon. The proposal is to document the lives and livelihoods of the river’s human communities at 2 specific moments during a year - the dry and the wet seasons. Once complete, the documentary will debut at the International Forum on Dams, emphasizing the importance of taking action now to prevent the potential destruction of this natural phenomenon and the native people’s lives that depend on it.
The relevant places to run the video are:
a) Upstream: communities in the capital of Rondonia, Porto Velho, such as Santo Antonio, Teotonio and Jacy-Parana, and in the municipalities of Nova Mamore (Vila Murtinho) and Guajara-Mirim.
b) Downstream: communities of Calama, Nazare, and Cujubim (all in the municipality of Porto Velho).
The dry season shooting is initially scheduled to take place soon and a priority is already assigned to communities to be flooded (upstream around the municipality of Porto Velho).
Objectives
- Dams documentary.
- Technical work leading to forum.
- Work in the headwaters of the Bolivian Amazon (Bruno Racua Wildlife Reserve).
