Large-scale hydropower impacts and adaptation strategies on rural communities in the Amazonian floodplain of the Madeira River

Poverty–Food Insecurity Nexus in the Post-Construction Context of a Large Hydropower Dam in the Brazilian Amazon

“…A previous study demonstrated the construction of mega dams in another major Amazon River led to a significant reduction in household fish consumption, from a daily basis prior to the dams to only 1-2 times per week or even less frequently after the dams [5].…”

“…Riverine populations in the Amazon heavily rely on fish as a staple food in their daily diet. They typically consume fish six to seven days a week, averaging over 160 kg per capita per year, which is among the highest in the world [5,87]. Nevertheless, this trend is undergoing a shift, which is marked by the substitution of fish consumption with industrially processed food throughout the Amazon region.…”

“…Meanwhile, the consumption of milk and processed foods doubled in their daily meals [90]. This change in dietary patterns can be attributed to the decline in fish stocks in the river [5,37,88,[91][92][93][94], which has led to an increased reliance on alternative sources of protein and other nutrients.…”

“…To effectively achieve these goals on local to global scales, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of what constitutes sustainable energy and what does not. Contrary to common practice that often categorizes hydropower as sustainable, substantial evidence has revealed the negative social and environmental issues that remained or were increased in the context of the expansion of this energy source, including public health issues, such as food insecurity [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

Large hydropower projects increase stress despite compensation efforts: Evidence from the Brazilian Amazon

“…For instance, the communities were promised fruit processing facilities that never became operational. Other research papers document the impacts to fisheries from these dams [7,10,67]. In addition to these community impacts, these factors could have also increased stress in the communities.…”