Amazon dam project gets the go-ahead

WHEN a country's environment agency slaps 33 restrictions on a construction project, you know it's going to be a controversial one. When that project is likely to cost up to $15 billion, you have to wonder whether business decisions have come ahead of environmental ones.

The Brazilian government this week gave preliminary approval for two huge hydroelectric dams in the Amazon, designed to combat energy shortages. The government claims that the Madeira river dams will meet 8 per cent of the country's electricity demand, and says the 33 restrictions will limit damage.

However, the National Institute for Amazon Research has outlined a string of costly knock-on effects, including the possible extinction of economically and ecologically important fish. They also warn that locals could suffer, because the flooded area will foster malarial mosquitoes, and that the project could lead to international disagreements since the flooded area may extend into neighbouring Bolivia.