A Norte Energia statement said the president of the Federal Court in Brasilia lifted the suspension on the Belo Monte dam.
Another judge had ordered the consortium to halt the work Friday, saying it had not met its environmental commitments.
Just as the 20,000 workers were preparing to stop work at the dam, located in the northern state of Para, Judge Mario Cesar Ribeiro said only a special court could rule on a suspension, according to a spokesman.
Federal Court Judge Antonio Souza had suspended the project's environmental license as well work at the dam last week after state prosecutors charged that Norte Energia had failed to comply with environmental commitments.
But Norte Energia insisted that it was "rigorously complying with its obligations and commitments."
Indigenous groups fear the dam across the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, will harm their way of life. Environmentalists have warned of deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and irreparable damage to the ecosystem.
Belo Monte, a $13 billion project aiming to produce 11,000 megawatts of electricity, is expected to flood a 500-square-kilometer (300-square-mile) area, displacing 16,000 people, according to the government.
It would be the third-biggest dam in the world, after China's Three Gorges and Brazil's Itaipu in the south.
france24.com
30/10/13
--
-
Related:
Amazonian tribes unite against Brazil’s controversial plans for hydroelectric dams...
ReplyDeleteAmazonian tribes are uniting against the Brazilian government’s plans to build hydroelectric dams right on their doorstep. As the projects accelerate, people have not been consulted, nor have proper environmental studies been carried out.
The Munduruku, Apiaka, Kayabi and Rikbaktsa tribes have their home in the world’s biggest forest, stretching across nine nations and harboring numerous unique flora and fauna not witnessed anywhere else. But its future is questionable, given the constant expansion of ‘civilization’, bringing about irreversible damage in the form of deforestation, wildlife and habitat loss and other untold consequences that follow. All of this directly affects the indigenous people.
On Thursday they released a joint statement amid the Brazilian government’s increased efforts to exploit hydropower. The tribes demanded an immediate halt to the construction of four dams on the river Teles Pires. If their demands are not met, they say they’re prepared to take matters further, because they know if they let this slide, bigger projects will follow, as the government is intent on gobbling up whatever resources it can, and is doing so at an increasing rate. In one alarming example, an upcoming project on the Tapajos River that runs through the Amazon threatens to completely flood one tribal territory.....rt.com
1/5/15