Eco-Finançaas Notícias - French multinational GDF Suez criticized for lead role in building the controversial Madeira Dam in the Brazilian Amazon

	French multinational GDF Suez criticized for lead role in building the controversial Madeira Dam in the Brazilian Amazon
	Local: São Paulo - SP Fonte: Amazonia.org.br - (14/01/2010) Link: http://www.amazonia.org.br

Page in Portuguese

This week, a coalition of civil society organizations from Brazil, France, the United States and Peru sent a letter to Mr. Gérard Mestrallet, the President of French company GDF Suez, criticizing the company for its involvement in the planning and construction of the controversial Jirau hydroelectric dam on the Brazilian Amazon's Madeira River. The letter points to the serious social and environmental impacts and risks related to the Jirau dam, and identifies GDF Suez's direct responsibility for them as the majority stakeholder in the dam-building consortium ESBR (Energia Sustentável do Brasil).

Jirau is one of the largest hydroelectric projects underway in the Americas, and GDF Suez's most environmentally destructive. According to the letter, "GDF Suez and its affiliates have displayed a lack of due diligence in the planning and construction phases of the Jirau dam, along with a disregard for human rights and environmental protection, for which the company is both legally and ethically accountable."

Among the human rights violations are the lack of free, prior and informed consent of local indigenous communities as well as evidence that highly vulnerable uncontacted indigenous groups, living in close proximity to the Jirau site, will be directly affected by the project's impacts. In addition to this, the environmental destruction wreaked by the Jirau dam will seriously impact river-based communities in the Madeira River basin - shared by Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru - flooding forests, devastating fish stocks, and irreversibly destroying livelihood opportunities.

"GDF Suez disregards our communities just as it disrespects the river," said Océlio Munhoz, a local leader of the Movement of Peoples Affected by Dams. "Our lives are being destroyed by a development model that treats the river and land like merchandise."

The Jirau dam is expected to displace thousands of river-dwelling families and endanger large swaths of standing forest, including protected areas. Dam construction will also threaten hundreds of migratory fish species with extinction. Decomposing vegetation and deforestation caused by the project will also contribute significantly to carbon dioxide and methane emissions from tropical rainforests. Currently tropical deforestation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

GDF Suez and its partner companies in the ESBR construction consortium have been fined for for illegal deforestation, and are already co-defendants in civil action lawsuits in Brazil filed by the State and Federal Public Prosecutors' Office (Ministério Público) and non-governmental organizations. The coalition of civil society organizations is calling on GDF Suez to immediately suspend all activities related to construction of the Jirau dam on the Madeira River.

While GDF Suez's majority stake in the consortium building the Jirau dam links the company to the project's impacts, the Government of France, a 36% shareholder in the company, also shares the blame. According to Jean-Patrick Razon, Director of Survival International France, "the fact that the French government is using public funds to finance a shameful company responsible for destroying the Madeira River and a region of enormous ecological and socio-cultural importance is an outrage. In addition, the survival of the uncontacted indigenous groups, who are the most vulnerable people on the planet, is now a major concern as they will be pushed off their lands and exposed to diseases against which they have no immunity."

As such, the letter to GDF Suez was also sent to President Nicolas Sarkozy and other authorities in the French government "to ensure that the problems and urgently-needed actions that we've identified receive an adequate response from the highest levels of company management".

Award for lack of socio-environmental responsibility

For its involvement in the Jirau Dam, GDF Suez, considered by many to be one of the world's most socially and environmentally irresponsible companies, has been nominated and short-listed to win the 2010 "Public Eye Award" in Davos, Switzerland on January 27, 2010. The award is given annually to corporations with the world's worst records for disrespect of the environment and "greenwashing".

From today (1/14) through January 27, voting for the "Public Eye People's Award" is taking place through the link: http://publiceye.ch/en/vote , where GDF Suez is listed as one of six finalists. The website includes a video condemning GDF Suez's actions on the Madeira River in the Brazilian Amazon. On January 27th, the winner will be announced at a ceremony in Davos.

Campaign Documents

2º Letter to President of GDF Suez (Portuguese)

Madeira River annex - 2º letter to GDF Suez (English) (Portuguese)

Summary of annex GDF Suez letter final

Letter to President of GDF Suez (English) (Portuguese) (Spanish) (French)

Letter to French Authorities (English) (Portuguese) (French)

Press Release (English) (Portuguese) (Spanish)

Videos about the Madeira Complex

The Madeira River: Life Before the Dams (WWF)

Rio Madeira Vivo (English) - International Rivers

Rio Madeira Vivo (Português) - International Rivers

Documents