STING AND THE AMAZON BASIN

Three Amazon indigenous leaders have travelled to London to rally public, press and government support of their communities’ fight against socially and environmentally destructive mega-dams planned for the Amazon basin – gaining the support of Sting and Bianca Jagger. The indigenous leaders came with the support of the Rainforest Foundation UK, in conjunction with other NGOs Amazon Watch and International Rivers, with financial support from Rainforest Concern.
“In its voracious appetite for energy, and facing concerted opposition at home for its plans to dam rivers in the Amazon Basin, Brazil is now looking to colonise parts of neighbouring countries for energy production,” says Sting. “This does not solve the environmental problems caused by large dams in rainforests nor reduce the impacts on indigenous people – it merely exports them. Peru’s Asháninka people have been granted the legal rights to their land in the Peruvian Amazon, and this should not be arbitrarily overturned by a Brazilian company, in defiance of international law on the rights of indigenous peoples.”
The delegation hopes to encourage European governments to utilise their abilities to influence Brazilian energy policy, but also to place pressure on the European stakeholders and the main financier of these projects – the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) – to refrain or withdraw their support.
Source: Looktothestars.org