Persistent Activism Safeguards Peruvian Amazon from Hydroelectric Dam

The Inambari Dam was planned on a major tributary in the Peruvian Amazon.  If built, the $4.9 billion development would have flooded 410 square kilometers of forest.  Just one dam in a series of hydropower projects proposed by an agreement between Brazil and Peru, Inambari would have exported 80% of the energy produced to Brazil.  It would have threatened the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, a natural sanctuary full of biodiversity.  Most importantly, it would have displaced 15,000 people, drowning their towns under water.

But, what would have been will not be, thanks to those very people. 

Site of the proposed Inambari Dam

For three long years, affected communities rallied together in protest of the dam, blocking access to roads, going on strike, and holding mass protests. Their calls for justice culminated during 36 days this spring, when nearly 2,000 local people in the Puno region of Peru held a massive strike—blocking roads and mass protesting—to call for cancellation of the proposed dam.

An Important Precedent

Their passion and commitment paid off on June 14^th, when the Peruvian government announced the massive Inambari Dam project was cancelled.  After meeting with local communities and feeling pressure from protesters, the government stated that the Brazilian EGASUR (Energy Generation in South America) consortium’s rights to develop the project had been revoked, setting an important precedent for future energy projects that continue to threaten communities in Peru.

“The resolution states that all future proposed projects must be subjected to prior consultation with local communities according to ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, which is an important precedent,” remarked Aldo Santos, a representative of a local nongovernmental organization.

In a press release, Monti Aguirre, Latin America Program Coordinator for International Rivers, said: “This is a great day for the Peruvian Amazon and the communities who have fought for so long to protect their rights and their environment. Both Brazil and Peru are rich in alternative energy sources. If Brazil invested in energy efficiency, it could avoid the need for any dams to be built in the Amazon Basin and save billions of dollars in the process. The Amazon is simply too precious a resource to squander.”

The Right Support at the Right Time

This year Global Greengrants Fund, in partnership with International Rivers, gave a $5,000 grant to Federación Nativa de Madre de Dios, a grassroots organization working in the Inambari Basin. The funding enabled local indigenous communities to organize themselves against the dam and create a media campaign publicizing its negative impacts. With help from our donors, this grant came at a crucial time when the government was finally starting to listen.

Although the decision represents a huge victory for our grantees and affected communities, more work remains.  The communities are still looking for a definitive cancellation of the dam, so other companies cannot come in and build.  They are also currently fighting oil and mining concessions in the area, so our work continues.

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Click here for the full press release on Inambari from International Rivers