Write a letter for dam-affected tribes of Brazil

A series of mega dams are being planned as a central part of Brazil’s Accelerated Growth Programme, which aims to stimulate the country’s economic growth by building a huge infrastructure of roads and dams, mainly in the Amazon region.

The size of these projects threatens to harm or destroy vast areas of land, upon which numerous tribal peoples, including several groups of highly vulnerable uncontacted Indians, depend for their survival.

The Jirau and Santo Antonio dams on the Madeira River and the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River are examples of such mega-dams.

How you can help

Write a letter to the President Rousseff to express your concern at the dams and their effect on nearby tribal communities.

Either use the template below or amend it with your own words.

HE President Dilma Rousseff
Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil
Gabinete do Presidente
Palácio do Planalto
Praça dos Três Poderes
70150-900
Brasilia DF
Brazil

May 16, 2012

Your Excellency

I am extremely concerned about the construction of the Madeira and Belo Monte dams in the Amazon.

The Santo Antonio and Jirau dams- part of the Madeira project in Rondônia state- threaten several groups of uncontacted Indians, some of whom live only 10 – 30 kms from the Jirau dam site and appear to have fled from the area recently.

There are also thought to be uncontacted Indians living near the site of the Belo Monte dam in Pará state.

These uncontacted groups’ lands will be deforested and invaded by outsiders who threaten to pass on diseases to them.

Isolated Indians have little or no immunity to diseases brought by outsiders, and any form of contact threatens to drive them to extinction, as has happened in the past.

The projects will create new roads and bring massive influxes of migrants into the area, increasing deforestation and harming the hunting and fishing grounds on which the Indians depend.

I urge you to suspend the construction of the Santo Antônio, Jirau and Belo Monte dams until the lands of the uncontacted Indians in the area are legally recognized and fully protected.

Yours sincerely,

Will my letter make a difference?
Yes. Time and again, letters from Survival supporters have called governments and organisations to account. Policies have changed and lives have been saved.

Should I post, fax or e-mail?
The most powerful way is to print and post your letter. We will e-mail you a ready-to-print PDF of your letter, together with postage information.

We sometimes also publish e-mail addresses or fax numbers where there is a realistic chance of these being read. However, e-mail addresses change and fax machines get unplugged. If you can, please post your letter.

Write a letter for dam-affected tribes of Brazil

1. Write your letter, then 2. Complete it and 3. Mail it

How you can help