The invisibility of fisheries in the process of hydropower development across the Amazon

Abstract

We analyze the invisibility of fisheries and inadequacy of fishers' participation in the process of hydropower development in the Amazon, focusing on gaps between legally mandated and actual outcomes. Using Ostrom's institutional design principles for assessing common-pool resource management, we selected five case studies from Brazilian Amazonian watersheds to conduct an exploratory comparative case-study analysis. We identify similar problems across basins, including deficiencies in the dam licensing process; critical data gaps; inadequate stakeholder participation; violation of human rights; neglect of fishers' knowledge; lack of organization and representation by fishers' groups; and lack of governmental structure and capacity to manage dam construction activities or support fishers after dam construction. Fishers have generally been marginalized or excluded from decision-making regarding planning, construction, mitigation, compensation, and monitoring of the social-ecological impacts of hydroelectric dams. Addressing these deficiencies will require concerted investments and efforts by dam developers, government agencies and civil society, and the promotion of inter-sectorial dialogue and cross-scale participatory planning and decision-making that includes fishers and their associations.

Checklist of the fishes from Jamari River basin, in areas under influence of dams, Rondônia, Brazil

“…References Many migratory fish species have commercial importance for the State of Rondônia, for example, branquinha-cascuda (Psectrogaster amazonica), curimatã (Prochilodus nigricans), cuiu-cuiu (Oxydoras niger), barba-chata (Pinirampus pirinampu), among others (Doria et al 2012). However, it is common for anglers to be excluded from plans for the construction of hydroelectric dams, mitigation and compensation of social and ecological impacts (Doria et al 2018). The Jamari River presented high species richness (230) compared to the other tributaries of Madeira River in which studies were carried out.…”

“…We did not analyze the effects from those dams installed in the Jamari River basin, but literature shows that tropical rivers are the main targets for dam construction due to their high hydroelectric potential (ANA 2019), which also affects aquatic ecosystems (Fearnside 2014). In Brazil, the Amazon basin is already considered the final energy frontier, since the other basins of the country have their hydroelectric potential almost exhausted (Doria et al 2018, ANEEL 2019. If, on the one hand, hydroelectric plants generate more energy, on the other they cause both environmental and socio-economic impacts.…”

Grandes hidrelétricas na Amazônia: impactos no recurso pesqueiro e na pesca artesanal, desafios e lições aprendidas na bacia do Rio Madeira

“…• ausência de informações adequadas para apoiar o planejamento, delimitação e mitigação do impacto bem como para a tomada de decisões (Kirchherr et al 2016, Doria et al 2017;…”

“…O vasto conhecimento técnico-científico existente sobre impactos de hidrelétricas é de difícil extrapolação para a Amazônia. A alta diversidade exige profundo conhecimento na escala espaço-temporal adequada para cada empreendimento e para a mitigação dos impactos proporcionais a sua vasta dimensão geográfica, sendo que com frequência os impactos extrapolam os limites tradicionalmente estabelecidos nos documentos oficiais (incluindo questões transnacionais como na Bacia do Rio Madeira) e não consideram a percepção dos atores locais (DORIA et al 2017). Esta realidade tem gerado inúmeros conflitos entre atores, resultando também em inúmeras ações contra as empresas construtoras, exigindo do poder judiciário e das agências que monitoram o licenciamento desses empreendimentos, um conhecimento interdisciplinar e transdisciplinar sobre diferentes temáticas.…”

Counting the fish eaten rather than the fish caught

“…A further caveat is that awareness of these contributions of inland fisheries, even backed by bigger numbers, will not necessarily change the political and economic impetus for large-scale water resource management interventions. A recent comparative analysis of five case studies of hydropower development from the Amazon basin (25) concluded that fishers have generally been marginalized or excluded from decision making pertaining to planning, construction, mitigation, compensation, and monitoring of the impacts of hydroelectric dams, despite the accumulating evidence of their importance.…”