Dam-Forced Displacement and Social-Ecological Resilience: The Barra Grande Hydropower Plant in Southern Brazil

Abstract

One of the major impacts caused by large dams is induced displacement, which is associated to several social and ecological negative secondary effects. This study’s objective is to analyze how the resettlement process engendered by the Barra Grande hydropower plant reorganized the local social-ecological system, affecting its resilience. The study is based on the social-ecological systems framework. Quantitative data was collected in official sources and field interviews were conduced. Collected data was analyzed in order to verify if disturbances drove the system towards more or less resilient pathways. Findings reveal that the resettlement process has benefitted the uniformity of agricultural practices and has encouraged farmers to control the system ecological conditions, negatively affecting the resilience of the social-ecological system.

Evaluating Monetary-Based Benefit-Sharing as a Mechanism to Improve Local Human Development and its Importance for Impact Assessment of Hydropower Plants in Brazil

“…Although the revenues are directed to the flooded municipalities, there are no clear evidences that the simple transfer of resources guarantees benefits to the cities (Sadoff and Grey, 2005;Zarfl et al, 2015;De Faria et al, 2017;Pulice and Moretto, 2017;Roquetti et al, 2017;Soliev and Theesfeld, 2017;Moran et al, 2018).…”

In search of the good dam: contemporary views on dam planning in Latin America

“…In response, many advocated social-ecological systems thinking (see, e.g. Roquetti et al 2017), with humans taking the status of "part of the environment". To illustrate, one respondent suggested we should not say "el agua es nuestra" ("the water is ours"), but "somos del agua" ("we are of the water").…”

Avaliação da efetividade de programas de educação ambiental no licenciamento ambiental de hidrelétricas: o caso da UHE de Miranda

“…Segundo Almeida e Montano (2017), a Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental visa identificar todo tipo de impacto que possa acarretar alteração na qualidade do meio ambiente, no intuito de evitar que danos sejam causados. Amparados na AIA, na década de 1980, surgiram as primeiras leis e instruções técnicas, voltados a regulamentar a extração/utilização dos recursos naturais no país, bem como os procedimentos para a gestão de atividades potencialmente poluidoras e/ou degradadoras, definidos por meio das etapas do licenciamento ambiental.…”

“…Em âmbito nacional, a produção científica percorre um caminho similar ao cenário internacional, com números crescentes de trabalhos que se dedicam à avaliação da efetividade na AIA (VERONEZ, 2018). Ao analisar a efetividade de sistemas de AIA no licenciamento ambiental dos estados de São Paulo (SP) e Minas Gerais (MG), Almeida e Montaño (2017), selecionaram 20 processos no primeiro estado e 17 no segundo, para aplicação de um conjunto de 19 critérios, voltados a avaliar a efetividade processual e substantiva das etapas da AIA.…”