Contesting detrimental dams: a case study from southern Brazil

ABSTRACT Dam construction is on the rise in developing countries, despite criticism arising from social, environmental, and economic segments. Projects that are deemed to be detrimental involve circumstances in which benefits are exceeded by the social, environmental, and economic problems produced by submersion of fertile, biologically diverse, and populated valleys. Articles about impoundments have traditionally focused on ecological and social consequences, but seldom on actions to protect rivers from impoundment. To address this shortfall, we present a case study from southern Brazil, where individuals and institutions organized to preserve two important tributaries to the only free-flowing stretch of one of the most heavily impounded rivers in the planet. We document three general strategies employed to question the implementation of detrimental dams, including raising public awareness, legal and administrative measures, and litigation, and for each of these we describe multiple tactics. These strategies and tactics have been successfully used to question development of detrimental dams. We suggest that strategies and tactics applied in southern Brazil are likely relevant in other locations where dam development continues.