“Green” energy boom destroys tribal peoples – will be devastated by the current boom in dam-building
“Survival International” – an NGO speaking up for the worlds Indigenous People – has recently released a new report highlighting the devastating impact on tribal people of a massive boom in dam-building for hydropower.
Drawing on examples from Asia, Africa and the Americas, Survival’s report “Serious Damage” exposes the untold cost of obtaining ‘green’ electricity from large hydroelectric dams, the NGO writes on its home page.
A rapid increase in global dam-building is currently under way. The World Bank alone is pouring 11 billion US dollar (ca. 66 milliarder DKR) into 211 hydropower projects worldwide.
The impact on tribal people is profound. One Amazonian tribe, the Enawene Nawe, has learnt that Brazilian authorities plan to build 29 dams on its rivers. Across the Amazon, the territories of five uncontacted tribes will be affected.
The Penan tribe in Sarawak (northern Borneo) face eviction to make way for the new Murum dam, and tribes in Ethiopia could be forced to rely on food aid if a dam being built on the famous Omo River is not halted.
One man from the Omo Valley’s Kwegu tribe, said: – Our land has become bad. They closed the water off tight and now we know hunger. Open the dam and let the water flow.
Hundreds of Brazilian tribespeople will gather this August (2010) to speak out about the controversial Belo Monte dam, which threatens several tribes’ land and vital food supplies.
Man kan læse hele den dystre og tankevækkende rapport på
http://assets.survivalinternational.org/documents/373/Serious_Damage_final.pdf
