Flooding by Brazil dams affects Amazon rainforest, satellite maps show

[WorldNews]

By Chris Arsenault RIO DE JANEIRO(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Dams along the Madeira River in western Brazil have flooded 36,100 hectares of rainforest, according to satellite images released on Wednesday, affecting people who live along the river and harming fish populations upon which they depend. The impacts of the two new dams, Jirau and Santo Antonio, could extend beyond Brazil to Peru and Bolivia as they disrupt the long-distance migration patterns of catfish, said the Amazon Conservation Association, a U.S.-based group which released the satellite maps. Luis Fernando Novoa, a professor of planning at the Federal University of Rondonia, said at least 30,000 people who farm, fish and otherwise depend on local natural resources have been affected.

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