Priscila FM Lopes, Marta Cousido-Rocha, Monalisa RO Silva, Cristiane C Carneiro, Juarez CB Pezzuti, Eduardo G Martins, Eder MS De Paula, Alpina Begossi, Maria G Pennino
{"title":"Droughts and controlled rivers: how Belo Monte Dam has affected the food security of Amazonian riverine communities","authors":"Priscila FM Lopes, Marta Cousido-Rocha, Monalisa RO Silva, Cristiane C Carneiro, Juarez CB Pezzuti, Eduardo G Martins, Eder MS De Paula, Alpina Begossi, Maria G Pennino","doi":"10.1017/s0376892923000358","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Summary The Neotropics have vast river catchments with untapped hydroelectric potential, but there are multiple expected negative impacts of dams, including those on local food security and livelihoods. Yet, monitoring of dam effects on subsistence is rare, particularly during initial implementation. Our study assessed changes in human fish consumption near the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon during the period 2012–2021, which covers construction, operation and a severe El Niño-induced drought. Over time, fish became less common and were consumed in smaller amounts, even though fewer people shared meals. The largest changes occurred between 2013 and 2016 (post-construction but prior to full operation), resulting in a downward trend in fish consumption, particularly during the drought season. Adding more fish species to the diet did not increase consumption per person. These changes in fish consumption suggest that they stem from environmental impacts of the project (e.g., reduced river level), despite secondary effects from climatic events. These findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive assessments of the social and ecological impacts of large infrastructure projects in the Amazon, along with sustainable and equitable management strategies to ensure food security and meet the needs of local communities.","PeriodicalId":50517,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Conservation","volume":"114 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Conservation","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0376892923000358","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Summary The Neotropics have vast river catchments with untapped hydroelectric potential, but there are multiple expected negative impacts of dams, including those on local food security and livelihoods. Yet, monitoring of dam effects on subsistence is rare, particularly during initial implementation. Our study assessed changes in human fish consumption near the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon during the period 2012–2021, which covers construction, operation and a severe El Niño-induced drought. Over time, fish became less common and were consumed in smaller amounts, even though fewer people shared meals. The largest changes occurred between 2013 and 2016 (post-construction but prior to full operation), resulting in a downward trend in fish consumption, particularly during the drought season. Adding more fish species to the diet did not increase consumption per person. These changes in fish consumption suggest that they stem from environmental impacts of the project (e.g., reduced river level), despite secondary effects from climatic events. These findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive assessments of the social and ecological impacts of large infrastructure projects in the Amazon, along with sustainable and equitable management strategies to ensure food security and meet the needs of local communities.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Conservation is one of the longest-standing, most highly-cited of the interdisciplinary environmental science journals. It includes research papers, reports, comments, subject reviews, and book reviews addressing environmental policy, practice, and natural and social science of environmental concern at the global level, informed by rigorous local level case studies. The journal"s scope is very broad, including issues in human institutions, ecosystem change, resource utilisation, terrestrial biomes, aquatic systems, and coastal and land use management. Environmental Conservation is essential reading for all environmentalists, managers, consultants, agency workers and scientists wishing to keep abreast of current developments in environmental science.