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Dam Project Threatens a Way of Life in Peru

22.05.2012

The indigenous Ashaninkas are now facing a frightening peril: the proposed 2,200-megawatt Pakitzapango hydroelectric dam, which would flood much of the Ene River valley. The project is part of a proposal for as many as five dams that under a 2010 energy agreement would generate more than 6,500 megawatts, primarily for export to neighbouring Brazil. The dams would inundate some communities and dry out others that depend on the river for sustenance and transportation as well as displace thousands of people in the process. For now, the project is stalled in the Peruvian Congress, where it awaits debate by the Foreign Relations Commission. Officials at the Energy and Mining Ministry say the dams make economic sense only if much of the energy they produce is exported. After the project was announced, the organization “Central Asháninka del Rio Ene”, which represents Ashaninka populations in the Ene River Valley, went to court to compel the Energy and Mining Ministry to disclose feasibility studies of the dam proposals.

Photo (c)  Ministerio da Cultura / Flickr