Socio-environmental impacts of the construction of dams on rural territories

the case of the Moreno municipality, state of Pernambuco

Abstract

The Jaboatão River, which flows through the municipality of Moreno, annually overflows, affecting a significant portion of the population that lives in its surroundings. In order to solve water supply problems and minimize the impact of floods, the Pernambuco’s state government is building, in partnership with the state’s sanitation company, the Engenho Pereira Dam, located within Moreno. If completed, the construction will flood an area of 263 hectares of land on the banks of the river, extending through areas of the Hebert de Souza Rural Settlement (AHS). Given this scenario, 42 families of small farmers from the settlement were removed to another location and indemnified in 2013. Therefore, the objective of this research was to analyze the socioenvironmental impacts caused by the building works of the dam on the community of the AHS. Collective and individual interview techniques were applied, in order to analyze the perception of the affected settlers. The implementation of the dam has been causing several problems, triggering conflicts, as well as impacting the physical-natural environment and promoting an inefficient use of public resources. The results demonstrate a relation between the negative impacts pointed out in the environmental impact study and report, performed by the venture responsible for the dam’s construction, with those reported by the interviewees. There is a clear disregard promoted by the institutions related to the project, and little has been taken into consideration regarding the impacts caused by the dynamics of the displacement of families, whilst basic rights have been violated.