Anger as Brazil approves Amazon rainforest dam

Raymond Colitt and Denise Luna in the Independent: Brazil awarded a domestic consortium rights yesterday to build the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam in the Amazon rainforest amid criticism that the dam will be catastrophic for the environment.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is likely to face a prolonged battle over the Belo Monte dam that he has heavily promoted despite opposition from a range of critics, including Hollywood director James Cameron.

Government leaders say the project, due to start producing electricity in 2015, will provide power for Brazil's fast-growing economy, but environmentalists and activists say it will damage a sensitive ecosystem and displace around 20,000 locals.

State power regulator Aneel said a consortium including state electric company Eletrobras and a group of Brazilian construction firms – considered the weaker of the two consortia that participated – won the bid. News of the outcome was blocked for two hours because of a last-minute injunction trying to halt the project on environmental grounds….

The mouth of the Amazon, seen from space