Journal Article

Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin

Ribas, Camila C, Norgaard, Richard B, Filizola, Naziano, Wittmann, Florian, Park, Edward, Baker, Victor R, Ansar, Atif, Stevaux, Jose C, Latrubesse, Edgardo M, d'Horta, Fernando M, Flyvbjerg, Bent, Wight, Charles, Zuanon, Jansen, Baker, Paul A, Arima, Eugenio Y, Dunne, Thomas

2017

نظرة عامة

More than a hundred hydropower dams have already been built in the Amazon basin and numerous proposals for further dam constructions are under consideration. The accumulated negative environmental effects of existing dams and proposed dams, if constructed, will trigger massive hydrophysical and biotic disturbances that will affect the Amazon basin's floodplains, estuary and sediment plume. We introduce a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index to quantify the current and potential impacts of dams in the basin. The scale of foreseeable environmental degradation indicates the need for collective action among nations and states to avoid cumulative, far-reaching impacts. We suggest institutional innovations to assess and avoid the likely impoverishment of Amazon rivers.

• الناشر: Nature Publishing Group
• موضوع: Basins (Geology) / Biodiversity / Brazil / Conservation of Natural Resources / Dam construction / Dams / Decision Making / Degradation / Design and construction / Disturbances / Ecology / Ecosystem / Energy industry / Environmental aspects / Environmental degradation / Environmental effects / Environmental policy / Estuaries / Estuarine environments / Floodplains / Geologic Sediments / Hydroelectric dams / Hydroelectric power / Innovations / International Cooperation / Nations / Power Plants / River basins / Rivers / Sediments / Water Movements / Wetlands