Say goodbye too ...

[Mike Wise]

It looks like we can say goodbye to several Rio Xingu apisto and Teleocichla species and other fish. The Belo Monte hydroelectric project, canceled in the 1990s, due to its effects on the environment and reservations of native peoples, has approval to be constructed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8492577.stm. It will be the 3rd largest dam in the world, but will not be able to produce electricity for 3 to 5 months during the dry season. This is probably only the start.

 

[viejo]

It looks like we can say goodbye to several Rio Xingu apisto and Teleocichla species and other fish. - This is probably only the start.

Yes & make sure that no one exports any for posterity!

 

[Ruki]

First was Soviet Union with their plan of green Asian deserts. Now we can see what happened with Aral Sea(oh, we can't because it's almost dry) and more, mostly unheard, cases.
Now we have this barbaric plan... It's really weird that in many countries hydroelectric power "is bad" and dams are removed.... Maybe something has to be destroyed to see that it was wrong... But most of things are unrepairable.. Mother nature will take cruel revenge some day...
I'm hoping that my children won't know wild Amazon and wild Apistogramma only from pictures...

 

[tjudy]

Not that I like it... but Brazil is only following a well documented path towards rural prosperity. Tennessee Valley Authority, Glen Canyon, Lake Mead, Columbia River, upper Missouri River, Fools Hollow, Table Rock Lake, Lake of the Ozarks... I could go on.

 

[blueblue]

What a piece of sad news, it's why I support the export of species such as L46, it is better than let them kill by these artificial projects.

 

[Mike Wise]

Brazil has plans for dams farther up the Xingu that will destroy the biotopes of many other fish species - including that of L46. Now would be a good time to get as many of these species as possible into a species maintenance program. It is possible (many people claim) that Brazil has stopped much of its fish export operations so that people will forget the species exist in these areas of development.

 

[blueblue]

Brazil has plans for dams farther up the Xingu that will destroy the biotopes of many other fish species - including that of L46. Now would be a good time to get as many of these species as possible into a species maintenance program. It is possible (many people claim) that Brazil has stopped much of its fish export operations so that people will forget the species exist in these areas of development.

I also believe this claim because some fish species in Brasil,
such as Panaque, are never in danger while their exports are still banned
because "they are not yet scienfically described"... it's just nothing more than
a ridiculus excuse.

 

[Bilbo]

I don’t know this area apart from Google pictures, What is the likelihood of having other as yet undiscovered fish in this area that will be lost as a result of this?

Truly sad news but is any amount of fish keepers or environmentalists going to change the mind of the corporate world?

 

[Mike Wise]

I don’t know this area apart from Google pictures, What is the likelihood of having other as yet undiscovered fish in this area that will be lost as a result of this?

Known apisto species that will be affected include A. sp. Xingu/Red-lobes/Vielfleck, A. sp. Blauspeigle/Blue-spangle, A. sp. Parati, and A. sp. Chao. Many of the fish that live in.near rapids, like Teloecichla spp. and many loricarids and pimelodids, will be affected too. If additional dams are built upstream, then this doesn't include the many large characoid species that migrate up and down the Xingu with changing water flow, kind of like salmon on the Columbia River in the USA. The Xingu has hardly been touched when it comes to its ichthyofauna. More is known about the larger, commercially valuable (edible), fish than the smaller ones that aquarists keep.

 

[apistodave]

hEY!

Not that I like it... but Brazil is only following a well documented path towards rural prosperity. Tennessee Valley Authority, Glen Canyon, Lake Mead, Columbia River, upper Missouri River, Fools Hollow, Table Rock Lake, Lake of the Ozarks... I could go on.

LIVING IN oREGON AND HAVING GUIDED AND BEEN INVOLVED In STEELHEAD AND sALMON PRESERVATION EFFORTS HERE, You know the salmon are almost extinct here in most Columbian basin rivers cause of dams, and logging, heck there are practically no Sockeye left and Chinook well forget about it. Go Nuclear

 

[Ruki]

There are some good news!

Brazil suspends Amazon dam project targeted by Avatar director


A Brazilian judge on Wednesday suspended the preliminary license for the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, a controversial project in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, citing "danger of irreparable harm," reports the Amazon Watch, an NGO that has been campaigning on the issue. The move comes just days after a high-profile visit by James Cameron, director of the box office hit Avatar, and Sigourney Weaver, one of the stars of Avatar, to indigenous communities potentially affected by the dam.

Judge Antonio Carlos de Almeida Campelo also cancelled the construction auction for the project scheduled for April 20 and ruled that IBAMA, Brazil's environmental agency, refrain from issuing a new license for the project.

"It remains proven, unequivocally, that Belo Monte's plant will exploit the hydroelectric potential of areas occupied by Indigenous people who would be directly affected by the construction and development of the project," wrote the judge in the decision.

The judge also warned that "while merits of this complaint have not been judged," companies involved in the project could be prosecuted for "environmental crime."

Avatar

Last week Cameron and Weaver traveled to Brazil for a visit indigenous communities that would be affected by the project, which could flood 500 square kilometers of pristine rainforest, force the relocation of some 12,000 people, and block migration of important fish species. When running a full capacity, the 11,000 megawatt dam could generate electricity for up 23 million homes in Brazil. The dam, which when completed would be the world's third-largest, would cost $12-17 billion.

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0415-belo_monte_suspension.html

 

[Mike Wise]

Good news for us, but even better for the local natives. I only hope it stands the test of time.

 

[Lisachromis]

I sure hope this holds up and isn't just delayed til further in the future after people stop paying quite so much attention here.

 

[slimbolen99]

The court has just reversed it's decision.

 

[Mike Wise]

The court has just reversed it's decision.

Why am I not surprised??

 

[slimbolen99]

I should have posted the link. Here it is:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100417/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_brazil_amazon_dam

 

[slimbolen99]

And....

Bidding has been halted, yet again.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100420/ap_on_bi_ge/lt_brazil_amazon_dam

 

[Mike Wise]

Everyone grab a bag of popcorn, sit back and enjoy the show!:biggrin:

 

[aquaticclarity]

Ca I get a beer as well Mike?

 

[briztoon]

Ah, about that last link. Bidding wasn't postponed again. They announced the winner of the dam contract. So no more bidding.

Now it's a matter of the dam being built. I wonder how many frogs are native to the Rio Xingu.