Holding a dead fish, Junior Pereira looks grimly at a puddle that used to be part of Brazil's Xingu river, a mighty Amazon tributary that has been desiccated here by the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric…
Harnessing the waters of the Xingu, the dam generated about 5% of all of Brazil's electricity last year, according to its operator Norte Energia. But the huge dam complex, vigorously opposed by many indigenous groups in the Amazon, is also changing age-old patterns of seasonally rising and falling water downstream, disrupting the balance of nature and the lives of people who depend on it, scientists and residents warn.
The waters of the Xingu River below the Belo Monte hydropower dam, in Brazil's Amazon, used to flood the river's forested islands during the rainy season, allowing fish to glide among the trees and gorge on fallen fruit.
The waters of the Xingu River below the Belo Monte hydropower dam, in Brazil’s Amazon, used to flood the river’s forested islands during the rainy season, allowing fish to glide among the trees and gorge on fallen fruit.