Brazilian Judge Halts Plans For Controversial Belo Monte Dam

A Brazilian judge has ordered the suspension of work on the massive Belo Monte Dam in the Amazon, citing concerns over the project’s impact on indigenous tribes and the environment. Federal judge Ronaldo Desterro said that Brazil’s Environmental Agency, IBAMA, had granted a license for the project under pressure from the dam’s contractor, Norte Energia, known as NESA. “Instead of IBAMA being the one to conduct the process, it is NESA that — according to its own interests, needs, and timeline — is imposing on IBAMA the licensing process for Belo Monte,” said Desterro. He ordered that all construction, including clearing of rainforest, be halted and that Brazil’s National Development Bank cease transferring funds to NESA. The dam, which could cost as much as $17 billion, would be the third-largest dam on the planet, supplying 23 million homes with electricity for much of the year. Indigenous communities and conservationists say the dam would displace 30,000 people. But Brazil’s new president, Dilma Rousseff, is a strong supporter of the project, whose construction may continue if Desterro’s ruling is overturned.