Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




WATER WORLD
Judge scraps Amazon dam hearing
by Staff Writers
Sao Paulo (AFP) Oct 14, 2012


A federal judge has suspended a planned hearing for fishermen and indigenous people occupying a disputed dam in Brazil's Amazon after they failed to vacate the site, developers said Sunday.

Federal Judge Marcelo Honorato had summoned for a hearing on Monday representatives of both the Norte Energia consortium in charge of the Belo Monte Dam and of the dozens of fishermen and natives occupying the dam's Pimental construction site for a week.

He had warned that the meeting would occur only if the activists end their occupation of Pimental, one of the dam's five construction sites. The protesters had until Saturday morning to vacate the premises.

"The conciliation hearing has been suspended because the occupiers have not vacated the Pimental work site," Norte Energia said on its website.

"An officer of the court overflew the occupied area and found that the protesters were still there."

Court officials were not immediately available to confirm the claim.

Protesters accuse Norte Energia of backtracking on accords signed in June when 150 indigenous people occupied the Pimental area for three weeks.

The natives want their lands demarcated and non-indigenous people removed from them, as well as a better healthcare system and access to drinking water.

Indigenous groups fear the dam across the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, will harm their way of life while environmentalists have warned of deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and irreparable damage to the ecosystem.

Expected to produce 11,000 megawatts of electricity, the dam would be the third biggest in the world, after China's Three Gorges facility and Brazil's Itaipu Dam in the south.

It is one of several hydroelectric projects billed by Brazil as providing clean energy for a fast-growing economy.

The dam is, however, expected to flood an area of 500 square kilometers (200 square miles) along the Xingu and displace 16,000 people, according to the government, although some NGOs put the number at 40,000 displaced.

The federal government plans to invest a total of $1.2 billion to assist the displaced by the time the dam is completed in 2019.

.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WATER WORLD
Brazil activists, energy group to meet over Amazon dam
Sao Paulo (AFP) Oct 12, 2012
Fishermen and indigenous people occupying a disputed dam in Brazil's Amazon are due to argue before a federal judge Monday their claim that the project harms their way of life, official media reported. Agencia Brasil said Judge Marcelo Honorato summoned representatives of the Norte Energia consortium in charge of the Belo Monte Dam and of the more than 150 fishermen and natives occupying the ... read more


WATER WORLD
Planning can cut costs of disasters: World Bank

12 Chinese workers killed, 24 hurt in dormitory blaze

Far, far beyond wrist radios

World leaders meet on disaster management in Japan

WATER WORLD
Amazon offers refunds following e-book settlement

Shares in China's ZTE slump after profit warning

U.N.: 6 billion cellphone subscriptions

Swedish breakthrough in space on NASA satellite with electronics from AAC Microtec

WATER WORLD
Scientists Uncover Diversion of Gulf Stream Path in Late 2011

Documented decrease in frequency of Hawaii's northeast trade winds

Too much of a good thing can be bad for corals

Judge scraps Amazon dam hearing

WATER WORLD
NASA's Operation IceBridge Resumes Flights Over Antarctica

Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches New Maximum Extent

Polarstern returns with new findings from the Central Arctic during the 2012 ice minimum

DRI scientist co-authors study outlining vast differences in polar ocean microbial communities

WATER WORLD
Gene Suppression Can Reduce Cold-induced Sweetening in Potatoes

Nepal culls chickens amid bird flu outbreak

Strengthening a billion-dollar gene in soybeans

Nasdaq OMX, China's Dalian Commodity team up

WATER WORLD
Scientists identify trigger for explosive volcanic eruptions

New hurricane forms over Pacific

Japan's TEPCO admits downplaying tsunami risk

6.7 magnitude quake strikes off Indonesia's Papua

WATER WORLD
Critical bishop expelled from Chad back in Italy

Four dead after day of violence in restive Nigerian city

Thousands march in Mali to urge intervention against Islamists

Nigerian farmers sue Shell in Dutch case with global reach

WATER WORLD
Nasty noises: Why do we recoil at unpleasant sounds

UN report warns of possible rise in child marriages

Chimps said attacking humans in Africa

New human neurons from adult cells right there in the brain




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement