Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a Mega-Dam?
The dam industry defines a large dam as one that is higher than 15 meters (taller than a four-story building).
SOURCE: https://www.internationalrivers.org/questions-and-answers-about-large-dams
2. How many Mega-dams are planned in Bolivia?
In 2016, Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (ENDE) announced that they are planning to build 35 hydroelectric plants in 4 regions of the country by 2025. These plans include building 23 mega-dams with the Chepete/El Bala mega-dams as the centerpiece.
3. Why so many mega-dams? How is the government justifying this project?
Bolivia is looking to export electricity as part of an effort to diversify its economy. Bolivia’s economy has been historically dependent upon natural gas exports, however, gas reserves are dwindling and hydrocarbon prices have dropped.
SOURCE: https://nacla.org/blog/2017/02/20/growing-resistance-megadams-bolivia
4. Why the concern about the Chepete/El Bala mega-dams?
The placement of the mega-dams in the Madidi/Pilon Lajas region will have significant environmental, social, and economic consequences.
Economic loss for Bolivia – the proposed mega-dams are estimated to produce electricity at a higher cost than currently available in Bolivia. Indeed, the planned mega-dams is considered the “most expensive hydropower project” in the world! Neighboring countries will have no financial incentive to purchase the generated electricity since they can obtain electricity at a much lower cost.
Objections by affected communities - Affected communities have been protesting that government decisions have been made without consultation or consensus as required by law. In 2016, the Italian firm hired by the government to study the dams’ feasibility withdrew their equipment announcing that if there is no consensus, they would not continue their work.
Displace indigenous communities - At least 17 indigenous communities will be displaced. Some of these communities are over 400 years old. In total, it is estimated that 46 to 59 communities will be negatively impacted by the dams.
Kill local wildlife - The Wildlife Conservation Society considers Madidi national park the most “biologically diverse protected area in the world.” This area holds 11% of the world’s birds and two-thirds of Bolivia’s vertebrates.
Loss of habitat - Since this area holds 60% of the flora in Bolivia – flooding large sections of the area will mean a loss of habitat for key species.
Destroy aquatic habitats and affect fish populations - Dams disrupt reproductive cycles of fish by preventing them from migrating upstream. Exotic aquatic plant species can quickly colonize newly flooded areas and further restrict water movement and oxygenation.
Lower agriculture productivity – River-dependent communities that rely on a natural flow regime for subsistence through agricultural activities will be negatively impacted.
Contribute to global warming – Hydroelectric dams in tropical forests produce substantial greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming: 1) carbon dioxide from below-water decay and above-water decay of trees left in the reservoir, and 2) methane from soil and terrestrial vegetation in areas that are flooded. According to Phillip Fearnside from the National Institute for Research in Amazonia “Amazonian dams can take four or more decades to “break-even” in terms of their greenhouse impact, making them anything but “green” energy that can be presented as mitigating global warming”
Deforestation – Significant deforestation will occur from both the flooded area and the settlement that will be attracted.
Long-term reductions in water cycling – The amount of forest evapotranspiration capacity and water that is cycled as rainfall is reduced by deforestation in areas surrounding a mega-dam. Compared to free-flowing rivers, water reservoirs also are subject to increased evaporation.
Increased health risk – Breaking up the natural flow of rivers and the creation of water reservoirs can contribute to the spread of disease-carrying organisms such as mosquitoes (dengue fever, yellow fever, malaria).
SOURCE: http://identidadmadidi.org/; https://rainforests.mongabay.com/0813.htm; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288956360_Greenhouse_gas_emissions_from_hydroelectric_dams_in_tropical_forests; https://nacla.org/blog/2017/02/20/growing-resistance-megadams-bolivia; https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/2016/11/21/empresa-detiene-trabajo-retira-bala-chepete-117745.html ; https://sciengsustainability.blogspot.com/2016/11/most-expensive-hydropower-dams.html; https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/land-use/infrastructure/dams; https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/land-use/infrastructure/dams; https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon-forest/land-use-and-agriculture/dams-amazon-basin
5. How many communities will have to pick up and leave as a result of the dams?
Seventeen (17) communities that reside downstream of where the dams will be placed will have to relocate. They are members of the Tsimane, Mosetén, Tacana and Josesana ethnic groups, and have been organized since 2017 as the “Mancomunidad de Comunidades de los ríos Beni, Tuichi y Quiquibey.” This organization was created in order to defend “our rights as indigenous peoples and defense of our territories against megaprojects such as the road through the TIPNIS territory and the Bala and Chepete dams, oil exploration and exploitation, mining concessions, etc.” Affected communities include: San Miguel, Torewa, Asuncion del Quiquibey, San Jose de Uchupiamonas, Real Beni, Charque, Villa Alcira, Carmen Florida, San Antonio del Sani, La Embocada, Gredal, Corte, Bisal, San Luis Chico, San Luis Grande, San Bernardo, and Agua Clara.
SOURCE: https://tipnisboliviaorg.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/pri-res-va-00096-2017.pdf
6. Will the government compensate for the displacement for these families and how much if any is given?
According to Article 10 of the Bolivian constitution, “Indigenous peoples will not be displaced by force from their lands or territories. No transfer should be made without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned, or without prior agreement on fair and equitable compensation and, whenever possible, the option of return.” Option of return will not be possible once the dams are built, and it is impossible to estimate what “fair and equitable compensation” should be for loss of ancestral lands and a sustainable livelihood. Poor handling by the Bolivian government of the required prior consultation and compensation for indigenous people affected by the extraction of hydrocarbons elsewhere in Bolivia does not bode well for the communities impacted by the planned dams. In the case of the TIPNIS, the breach of these commitments and the Bolivian constitution have been denounced by the Ombudsman and most recently by the International Rights of Nature Tribunal.
SOURCE: https://www.rightsofnaturetribunal.com/judgements; http://drobisonbolivia.blogspot.com/search/label/Represas%20en%20el%20Bala%20y%20Chepete%3A%20%C2%BF%E2%80%9CPura%20Ganancia%E2%80%9D%20o%20Monumento%20irreversible%20al%20extractivismo%3F
7. Where exactly will the dams be placed?
The two dams are planned to be built southwest of Rurrenbaque. See map below. At least 46 communities and 5 Community Lands of Origin would be directly affected by the flooding caused by the two proposed dams.
8. How are non-indigenous Bolivians (or those not living in affected areas) reacting to the mega-dam project?
We have identified key studies, reports and analyses, as well as media reports, and posted them on this website. Overwhelmingly, these analyses show that these mega-dams are bad for the environment, resident communities, and the Bolivian economy. Alternatives such as solar and wind energy need to be explored.
SOURCE: https://fundacionsolon.org/2016/08/16/es-el-bala-la-mejor-opcion-para-bolivia/; http://drobisonbolivia.blogspot.com/search/label/Represas%20en%20el%20Bala%20y%20Chepete%3A%20%C2%BF%E2%80%9CPura%20Ganancia%E2%80%9D%20o%20Monumento%20irreversible%20al%20extractivismo%3F
8. What can we do? How can we get involved? How can we advocate against this project?
Let others know about what is happening in Bolivia
Contribute to blogs, newspaper articles, social media, radio talk shows, etc.
Have up to date analysis to share freely
Provide an evidence-based argument
Blog, “Long read” not sound bites or talking points
Support ecotourism efforts of the affected communities
Take good photographs that help document the ongoings of the region, and send them to hiddencrisisbolivia.org.
Translate Spanish language articles by Bolivian activists into English
Translate English language articles into Spanish for dissemination in Bolivia
Host a viewing of the upcoming documentary Still River, Silent Jungle.
Financially support travel for indigenous community members who are impacted to attend meetings
