Belo Monte Mega-Dam

CONFERENCE DOCUMENTATION

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CONFERENCE PRESENTATION Belo Monte is a controversial mega-dam complex on the "big bend" of the Xingu river, a tributary of the Amazon. Like other mega-projects, it is claimed that such large scale development will improve living conditions for local people, in line with the  Brazilian government's  slogan "development starts with energy".  But who benefits? And who pays the bill? Experts say that Belo Monte will produce a mere fraction of the projected electricity, while it risks huge social and environmental impacts, breaching the rights of the local population to access fisheries and forest. Critics argue that it will entail further construction contracts across the whole region while clearing the forest for mining. How are EU citizens implicated through investments and shares in European companies which are consortia members? What are the legal challenges and options, what are the corruption allegations, what trials have been brought to the courts, and what has happened with them? What are the alternatives to these kinds of lucrative, publically-funded, expensive, high impact, low yield prestige projects? Find out through presentations and debate between civil society and players in the legal, political and business worlds from both sides of the Atlantic, hosted by the three Green MEPs who visited the site and stakeholders in July.

 

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME 15:00 - 15:15

Welcome and Introduction

Moderator: MEP Ulrike Lunacek (Austria), Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group Debriefing of the Greens' visit in July 2013 15:15 - 16:45

Panel one: Who pays the price and who really benefits?

Moderator: MEP Catherine Grèze (France), Greens/EFA Coordinator for the Development committee, Member of the EuroLat Assembly
Speakers: Professor Dr. Janice Muriel Cunha, Universidade Federal do Pará, biologist, specialist on fish in Amazonian rivers
Professor Dr. Francisco del Moral Hernández, Belo Monte Expert Panel, engineer and expert on Brazilian energy policy
Dr. Mauricio Tolmasquim, Director of the Social & Environment department of Norte Energia
Olivier Petitjean, cofounder of "Observatoire des multinationales" 16:45 - 17:30

Panel two: Who can stop the machine?

Moderator: MEP Eva Joly (France), President of the Development Committee Speakers: Felicio Pontes, Federal Prosecutor, State of Pará
Valérie Cabanes, International Law Lawyer, spokesman for the European Citizens' Initiative "End Ecocide in Europe"
Alfredo Pena-Vega, Sociologist, Professor-researcher at the Edgar Morin Centre/EHESS-CNRS and founder of the International Tribunal for Nature 17:30 - 18:15

Panel three: Looking for alternative solutions and public participation

Moderator: MEP Ulrike Lunacek (Austria), Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group
Antonia Melo, Movimento Xingu Vivo
Heike Drillisch, GegenStrömung
Prof. Dr. Francisco del Moral Hernández, Belo Monte Expert Panel 18:15 - 18:30

Conclusions: Next steps - continuing the campaign

Moderator: MEP Ulrike Lunacek Austria, Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group