News-Letter Nr. 464

Indigenous Peoples and Social Movement in Brazil's Northeast Reject Transposition of São Francisco River

The fight against a project for transposing the waters of the São Francisco River was reinforced. The seminar "São Francisco River: a live-or-die issue," which was held on June 2 and 3 in Cabrobó (state of Pernambuco), proposed the creation of a "Permanent Forum in Defense of the 'Old Chico' (the São Francisco river)" with the participation of indigenous peoples and social and popular movements of the Northeast region. At the meeting, which was attended by about 500 participants from non-governmental, environmental and union organizations, representatives of the University of Pernambuco and Cimi and indigenous leaders of the Truká, Xukuru, Pipipã (state of Pernambuco), Tuxá, Tumbalalá (state of Bahia), Xukuru-Kariri, Geripankó (state of Alagoas), and Xokó (state of Sergipe), contradictions were pointed out in the transposition project, which was designed to remove a large volume of water from the São Francisco river at a moment when Brazil is rationing electricity for lack of water in major reservoirs.

The project for transposing the waters of the São Francisco river was designed by the federal administration for the alleged purpose of solving chronic drought problems in the Northeast region by making a large volume of its waters available for irrigation projects in the states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco. The final document of the seminar, however, reports that "about 70% of the water that the project would make available would be used in large irrigation undertakings in the region and would not, as alleged, bring any benefits to those who suffer the consequences of the drought in the above-mentioned states, as only 5% of the population of semi-arid areas in the Northeast would benefit from the project." In the Northeast region, 18 indigenous peoples would be negatively affected by the transposition.

The transposition, the electricity crisis, and economic interests

The Brazilian electricity crisis has shown that the lack of water in the Northeast and the drastic reduction in the water volume of the São Francisco river clearly reveal the political inconsistency of the transposition project. According to the federal administration, water levels in reservoirs of plants that use waters from the São Francisco river are critically low.

The project could also meet economic interests of corporations and politicians who will use it to try to get reelected in 2002. Because of the low water volume in the São Francisco river, the transposition will only be possible if the waters of the Tocantins river are also diverted. For this purpose, a dam would be built in the Sono river (a tributary of the Tocantins river) close to the bounds of the Xerente indigenous area. The course of the Tocantins river would be modified through pumping, making the transposition and a huge financial investment possible.

The participants in the seminar closed the final document requiring, among other measures, the immediate preparation of a project to revitalize and preserve the São Francisco river and its tributaries using the public funds set apart for its transposition. They also request the creation of mechanisms to ensure social control over the use of these funds and of the waters of the river. Regarding the cyclic drought problem, they state the following: "we believe that any projects designed to fight drought problems must take into account the need to restore and preserve traditional knowledge that enables affected populations to deal with the drought, so that typical cultures of semi-arid regions may be valued and the caatinga region preserved through sustainable management practices as a feasible ecosystem for the population of the region." The final document of the seminar "São Francisco River: a live-or die issue" was sent to the Federal Prosecution Service, the Chamber of Deputies, the Federal Senate, the ministry of Mines and Energy, and the Office of the President of the Republic.

Brasília, 7 June 2001
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi

For more details on the text you may want to contact Cimi directly under e-mail:



Webmaster Pro REGENWALD

We're happy to receive your comments or answer your questions. Please , if you want to contribute to this work