One of the most common arguments used to justify this boom in dam construction is that the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains has enormous unused capacity for generating electricity. This geological fact, however, does not consider the potential impact of damning free-flowing rivers for the first time and provoking major disruptions in their flow. A different aspect of this new boom of construction of hydroelectric dams that rarely figures in the calculation of impacts is the need to construct longdistance electricity transmission lines, many of which may pass through indigenous peoples’ territories and protected areas. The planning processes of these dams have not been transparent and the analyses of their viability give undue weight to economic considerations in detriment of social and environmental ones.
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An excellent interactive site on the Internet, where information on dams planned for construction throughout the world is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, can be found at: www.dams-info.org. This site incorporates the extensive global data base of International Rivers and was developed jointly by International Rivers, the Fundación Proteger of Argentina and ECOA of Brazil.
Red Jurídica Amazónica (RAMA)
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