Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




WATER WORLD
Please stop Xingu dam, Amazonian Indians plead at summit
by Staff Writers
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (AFP) June 14, 2012


Amazonian chief Raoni on Thursday implored the UN environment summit here to halt a $13-billion dam being built in one of the world's last bastions of wildlife.

"I want to ask the whole world to respect the indigenous peoples, to leave us in peace... without dams," the 82-year-old chief of the Kayapo tribe, bedecked with bright yellow and black feathers, told AFP.

The chief became known worldwide in the 1980s for teaming up with British rock star Sting for his defense of the rights of indigenous peoples.

He spoke through an interpreter on the sidelines of the Conference on Sustainable Development which opened Wednesday. The giant meeting is to climax in a summit of an expected 116 leaders from June 20-22.

The 11,200-megawatt Belo Monte dam will span the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, in a project billed by Brazil as providing clean energy for a fast-growing economy.

Work began a year ago, despite fierce opposition from local people and green activists.

Indigenous groups fear the dam will harm their way of life while environmentalists have warned of deforestation, greenhouse-gas emissions and irreparable damage to the ecosystem.

The third largest dam in the world, the Belo Monte is expected to flood an area of 500 square kilometers (200 square miles) along the Xingu and displace 16,000 people, according to the government, although some NGOs put the number at 40,000 displaced.

"In this summit, I am going to ask that they respect the rights of those who live near the dam, so that they can continue to fish in the Xingu River, so that my children and grandchildren can fish, eat," said Chief Raoni.

"I am going to ask again here that the Brazilian government stops construction of this dam. I am going to continue defending nature and calling for respect of the forest because my ancestors, my parents lived here first," he said.

Meanwhile, efforts to craft a global deal on the environment for next week's summit made painful progress.

A text to be put to world leaders aims at beefing up governance of green problems and establishing "Sustainable Development Goals" when the UN's current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expire in 2015.

Among other things, it would address help for green business and cleaner energy and offer guidelines on how cities of the future can avoid traffic gridlock and slums.

But only a quarter of the 81-page draft communique had been approved as of Thursday, the penultimate day of scheduled negotiations.

Seven "splinter" groups have been set up to try to resolve individual issues.

The mood is "extremely positive" but "many issues are creating more serious problems in finding a solution," Nikhil Seth, director for sustainable development at the UN's department of economic and social affairs, told reporters.

Several concepts have no precedent in UN diplomacy, he explained.

"There is no extant text or registration on which negotiators can moor a language. We are pioneering this work," he said.

Separately, Australia on Thursday announced plans to create the world's largest network of marine parks to protect ocean life, with limits placed on fishing and oil and gas exploration off the coast.

The new reserves would cover 3.1 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles), or more than one-third of Australian waters, taking in significant breeding and feeding grounds.

It will expand protection of creatures such as the blue whale, green turtle, critically endangered populations of grey nurse sharks, and dugongs.

.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WATER WORLD
Kenya's fragile Lake Turkana threatened by Ethiopian dam
Loyangalani, Kenya (AFP) June 8, 2012
The fishermen and herders eking out an existence on the shores of the majestic Lake Turkana risk having their way of life destroyed by a giant dam under construction in Ethiopia, their neighbour to the north. Glittering jade under the scorching sun, Lake Turkana is a fragile jewel in an arid environment already hit by global warming. At 250 kilometres (150 miles) long by 60 kilometres wide a ... read more


WATER WORLD
Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behaviour

UA Lunar-Mining Team Wins National Contest

NASA Lunar Spacecraft Complete Prime Mission Ahead of Schedule

NASA Offers Guidelines To Protect Historic Sites On The Moon

WATER WORLD
Impact atlas catalogs over 635,000 Martian craters

e2v imaging sensors launched into space on NASA mission to Mars

NASA Mars Rover Team Aims for Landing Closer to Prime Science Site

NASA's Mars rover zeroes in on August landing

WATER WORLD
The pressure is on for aquanauts

Virgin Galactic Opens New Office

US scientists host 'bake sale for NASA'

XCOR Appoints Space Expedition Corp As General Sales Agent For Space Tourism Flights

WATER WORLD
China's manned spacecraft in final preparations for mid-June launch

Tiangong's Big Tasks

Media Tonedown for Tiangong

Shenzhou-9 full-system drill a success

WATER WORLD
Varied Views from the ISS

Strange Geometry - Yes, It's All About the Math

Capillarity in Space - Then and Now, 1962-2012

Dragon on board

WATER WORLD
NASA's NuSTAR Mission Lifts Off

Orbital Launches Company-Built NuSTAR Satellite Aboard Pegasus Rocket for NASA

NuSTAR Arrives at Island Launch Site

Another Ariane 5 begins its initial build-up at the Spaceport

WATER WORLD
Extremely little telescope discovers pair of odd planets

Alien Earths Could Form Earlier than Expected

Planets can form around different types of stars

Small Planets Don't Need 'Heavy Metal' Stars to Form

WATER WORLD
Japanese restrict atomic exposure testing

Microsoft reaches into TV market with Xbox Live ads

iPad to drive stronger tablet sales worldwide: study

New national supercomputer to perform astronomical feats




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement