Anne Runde

Brazil’s hydroelectricity sector is rapidly expanding with several planned dams in Amazonian rivers. While the impacts of dam development on fisheries located upstream from dams have been acknowledged, impacts on fisheries downstream have largely been overlooked by impact assessments. The goal of this study is to analyse fishery baseline data to estimate the socio-ecological vulnerability of small-scale fisheries located downstream from a proposed dam in the Tapajos River, Brazilian Amazon. Data were gathered from interviews with 171 fishers in 16 communities along a ~275 km stretch of river downstream from the proposed dam. The interviews were based on fishers’ socio-economic situation and the fishery resources they depend upon. A scenario was created that highlights the fishers’ vulnerability to damming based on the susceptibility to damming of the fish that the fishers exploit. The results indicate that fishing is an important activity, constituting a key source of food and income for the fishers and their communities. The scenario shows that the impact of the dam on fisheries potentially extends to the mouth of the river. Therefore, the impoundment is expected to affect the socio-economic and emotional well-being of all fishers, putting their livelihoods and those of their families at risk. The results suggest that, by ignoring the effects of dams on downstream communities, impact assessments severely underestimate the area and thus the number of people who would be affected by the dam. It is concluded that a thorough evaluation of all the downstream fishers needs to be included in official impact assessments before river impoundment is allowed, and that development plans should consider these findings.Brazil’s hydroelectricity sector is rapidly expanding with several planned dams in Amazonian rivers. While the impacts of dam development on fisheries located upstream from dams have been acknowledged, impacts on fisheries downstream have largely been overlooked by impact assessments. The goal of this study is to analyse fishery baseline data to estimate the socio-ecological vulnerability of small-scale fisheries located downstream from a proposed dam in the Tapajos River, Brazilian Amazon. Data were gathered from interviews with 171 fishers in 16 communities along a ~275 km stretch of river downstream from the proposed dam. The interviews were based on fishers’ socio-economic situation and the fishery resources they depend upon. A scenario was created that highlights the fishers’ vulnerability to damming based on the susceptibility to damming of the fish that the fishers exploit. The results indicate that fishing is an important activity, constituting a key source of food and income for the fishers and their communities. The scenario shows that the impact of the dam on fisheries potentially extends to the mouth of the river. Therefore, the impoundment is expected to affect the socio-economic and emotional well-being of all fishers, putting their livelihoods and those of their families at risk. The results suggest that, by ignoring the effects of dams on downstream communities, impact assessments severely underestimate the area and thus the number of people who would be affected by the dam. It is concluded that a thorough evaluation of all the downstream fishers needs to be included in official impact assessments before river impoundment is allowed, and that development plans should consider these findings.