Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Issues at El Faro

Damming and Condemning: The Real Cost of Large Dams

Large dams inflict human, social and environmental costs on impoverished communities. The Yacyretá Dam between Paraguay and Argentina is just one example of a flawed technology that causes more damage than benefits.

By: Marisancho Menjón, Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua

Many have spoken of the benefits that large dams bring to society, but we still do not hear much about the price that has been paid and that is being paid for this supposed engine of progress. Throughout the 20th century, great works of hydraulic engineering were always considered to be in the public interest, although there were no economic studies to validate the prudence of even constructing them. Even so, the factors that make dams undesirable are not the economic miscalculations for these public investments, but the human, social and environmental costs. The most serious problems arise from the breaches of human rights and the total disregard for rivers and the environment that have tended to go hand in hand with these projects.

The Yacyretá Dam: Disaster on All Fronts

The hydroelectric dam on Lake Yacyretá was built between 1983 and 1994 on the Paraná River, between the Argentine Province of Corrientes and the Paraguayan Department of Misiones. Built in an open area, the 5 km concrete dam was complemented by 65 km of dykes. The area now underwater is some 500 km2.

The dam project was strongly criticized for its ecological and social impact. The area saw the eviction of 40,000 people, most of them from the Maya-Guaraní community. These people are being uprooted as a result of this project.

The water level is currently 7m below the projected mark, and the infrastructure is running at 60% of its installed capacity. If the water rises to the projected level, another 1,000 km2 of land will be lost, which is presently home to some 80,000 people, including some districts of the local towns, Posadas and Encarnación.

According to reliable hydro-geological studies, raising the level of the reservoir may also raise the water level in the Esteros de Iberá, 10,000 km2 of protected wetlands with an underground connection to Yacyretá, causing an irreparable disaster in this natural area of high ecological value, and flooding over 200,000 hectares of cultivated land.

The People Fight Back

In recent months there have been violent attacks, evictions and fires in the villages, caused by paramilitary groups. Recently, over a thousand of the people affected by Yacyretá, from Argentina and Paraguay, travelled to Buenos Aires with the Jesuit Bishop of Misiones at their head, and occupied a railway shed in Chacarita, to denounce the destruction of their economy, the violent evictions and the absence of compensation. Their presence and their demonstrations before of the centres of power of Buenos Aires and Asunción called for the project to increase the reservoir levels to be suspended indefinitely. This struggle is a symbol of resistance and dignity in the face of abuses, in which they are only defending their right to a decent life on their own land.