By Gabriela S\u00e1 Pessoa SAO PAULO (AP) \u2014 The Belo Monte hydropower plant in the Brazilian Amazon, one of the world\u2019s largest, was designed to channel water from the Xingu River in a way that would avoid the need for large reservoirs, which could flood surrounding areas. After years of legal battles, authorities approved the project, located in the southwestern part of the state of Para, on one condition: it would not threaten ecosystems and communities of Indigenous people along stretches of the river. A decade after operations began in 2016, Brazilian courts have found that Belo Monte failed to meet that requirement and that its environmental and social impacts were far greater than forecast. \u201cThey were just confirming what we already knew,\u201d said Ana La\u00edde Barbosa, a member of… <\/p>\n
By Gabriela S\u00e1 Pessoa SAO PAULO (AP) \u2014 The Belo Monte hydropower plant in the Brazilian Amazon, one of the world\u2019s largest, was designed to channel water from the Xingu River in a way that would avoid the need for large reservoirs, which could flood surrounding areas. After years of legal battles, authorities approved the project, located in the southwestern part of the state of Para, on one condition: it would not threaten ecosystems and communities of Indigenous people along stretches of the river. A decade after operations began in 2016, Brazilian courts have found that Belo Monte failed to meet that requirement and that its environmental and social impacts were far greater than forecast. \u201cThey were just confirming what we already knew,\u201d said Ana La\u00edde Barbosa, a member of... <\/p>\n