Controversial dam in Brazil (Belo Monte)

The European Parliament adopted a report this week on dam construction, which included a call to halt the construction of a controversial hydro-electric project in Belo Monte, in the Amazon region Brazil. Yesterday, a court in Brazil also ruled that construction should be halted. The Greens welcomed both outcomes, with MEPs Catherine Grèze and Ulrike Lunacek stating:

"First the European Parliament and now the Brazilian judicial system has intervened to prevent the wrong-headed decision to build the Belo Monte dam from going ahead. The planned hydro-electric plant would not only lead to serious environmental damage in this sensitive part of the Amazon, it would also complete undermine the indigenous peoples in the region and their basic rights. The EU must now exert pressure on Brazil to scrap this project."