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The Belo Monte hydroelectric dam stands in the Xingu River in Altamira, Para state, Brazil, Friday, Sept. 6, 2019. Credit:
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Norte Energia, operator of the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River in the eastern Amazon rainforest, has begun diverting about 85% of the river s water to the dam s turbines in order to boost electricity production. Scientists say the resulting drop in water levels will disrupt flood-dependent ecosystems and adversely affect the Indigenous peoples along the river.
Brazil has built more than 200 large hydroelectric dams as a way to produce energy for a growing economy, and Norte Energia s Belo Monte Dam has been one of the most controversial. Aside from its effect on local people and wildlife that rely on the river s natural rise and fall, flooding behind dams can add to climate change by killing trees and other vegetation, which decompose and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
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Amazon s Belo Monte dam cuts Xingu River flow 85%; a crime, Indigenous say
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