Large dam in Amazon gets OK

Thu., June 2, 2011

Associated Press

SAO PAULO, Brazil – The Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the heart of the Amazon rain forest won approval from Brazil’s environmental protection agency on Wednesday, clearing the way for a project fiercely opposed by environmentalists and indigenous activists.

The dam would be the world’s third-largest, behind China’s Three Gorges dam and the Itaipu, straddling the Brazil-Paraguay border.

The consortium building Belo Monte still must obtain an operating license, but Wednesday’s decision allows for full-scale construction of an $11 billion project designed to produce 11,000 megawatts of electricity, more than 6 percent of Brazil’s energy needs.

The government says the project is essential to help Brazil maintain economic growth.

Environmentalists fear the project will lead to more dams in the Amazon, creating development that will mean faster deforestation.

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Large dam in Amazon gets OK

Jesse Tinsley

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