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Studies That Don’t Hold Water

Studies That Don’t Hold Water

30 Errors in the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Madeira River Hydroelectric Complex

By International Rivers Network & Amigos da Terra Amazônia Brasileira November, 2006 Full report (PDF)

Introduction

On June 26, 2006, the Rondônia State Public Attorney’s Office and the consortium comprised of the private construction company Odebrecht and the state electric company Furnas signed an Agreement to carry out a series of studies evaluating the environmental and feasibility studies for the Madeira River Hydroelectric Complex in the Brazilian Amazon.

The legal Agreement also called on Brazil’s environment protection service, Ibama, to "consider the results of the report" in their deliberations regarding the licensing process for the project. The consulting firm COBRAPE, of São Paulo was paid directly by the dam building consortium, and 19 specialists, well known in their diverse disciplines were called upon to analyze the project environmental studies, with their results to be publicly disseminated and discussed in public meetings.

This document contains excerpts, which present the 30 principal questions raised by the specialists. These point to serious errors in the project studies, and raise issues that question the feasibility of the project itself, and the licensing process currently underway. Some also question the terms of reference for the studies, which were established by Ibama in consultation with the construction consortium.

The excerpts are presented in thematic groups, with the names of the specialist who raised each point.

Additional Information

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