The Chacorão Dam (or Chocorão Dam, pt, Barragem de Chacorão) is a proposed dam on the

Tapajós The Tapajós ( pt, Rio Tapajós ) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately long. It is one of the largest cle ...

river in the state of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...

, Brazil. It would flood a section of rapids in the river, making them navigable by barges carrying soybeans to ports on the Amazon River. The dam would include locks for the barges and a hydroelectric power plant. It is controversial since it would flood a large area of an indigenous territory.

Location

The proposed Chacorão Dam would be built on the Tapajós river in the state of Pará. The hydroelectric power plant would be part of the proposed

Tapajós hydroelectric complex The Tapajós hydroelectric complex ( pt, Complexo Hidrelétrico de Tapajós) is a proposed complex of hydroelectric dams on the Tapajós and Jamanxim rivers in the state of Pará, Brazil. The Tapajós dams would contain locks, thus converting the ...

on the Tapajos and Jamanxim rivers. Others are the São Luiz do Tapajós (6,133 MW), Jatobá (2,338 MW), Cachoeira dos Patos (528 MW), Jamanxim (881 MW) and Cachoeira do Cai (802 MW) plants, all under study, as well as the less advanced proposal for the Jardim do Ouro (227 MW). The São Luiz do Tapajós, Jatobá and Chacorão dams on the Tapajós would together flood , including parts of the Amazônia and Juruena national parks and the Itaituba I and Itaituba II national forests. The Chacorão reservoir would affect the

Munduruku The Munduruku, also known as Mundurucu or Wuy Jugu or BMJ, are an indigenous people of Brazil living in the Amazon River basin. Some Munduruku communities are part of the Coatá-Laranjal Indigenous Land. They had an estimated population in 201 ...

, Kayabí and

Apiacá The Apiacá, or Apiaká, are an indigenous people of Brazil, who live in northern Mato Grosso, near the border of Pará. They speak an Apiacá language that is a subgroup part of the Tupi-Guarani languages, though many today speak Portuguese. Pri ...

indigenous people. It would flood of the

Mundurucu Indigenous Territory The Mundurucu Indigenous Territory ( pt, Terra Indígena Mundurucu) is an indigenous territory in the state of Pará, Brazil. It is occupied by the Apiacá and Munduruku people. A proposed dam on the Tapajós river is on hold since it would flood ...

Technical

The dam will have a reservoir of . The power plant will have a capacity of .

Planning process

The dam is part of a plan to convert the Tapajos into a waterway for barges to take soybeans from

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighborin ...

to the Amazon River ports. A continuous chain of dams, with locks, would eliminate today's rapids and waterfalls. Legal and constitutional objections may be bypassed through "security suspensions." The Chacorão locks are listed as a priority in the ''National Waterways Plan'' (Brazil, MT 2010, p. 22). The dam's reservoir would eliminate the Chacorão rapids, allowing barge traffic above the dam's locks. The controversial Chacorão Dam is rarely discussed in the context of the Tapajós Basin developments, despite its central role in the plan. A "platform" approach is proposed for construction to minimise environmental impact. There would be no access roads, and workers would be taken to the site by helicopter. After construction is complete the site would be regenerated. As of 2010 Eletronorte had not applied for registration with the National Electricity Agency to start feasibility studies for the Chacorão hydroelectric power plant, since it would flood parts of the Mundurucu and Sai-Cinza indigenous territories. A spokesman said that without a decree to regulate the constitution there was no way to undertake projects in indigenous territories.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chacorao Dam Hydroelectric power stations in Brazil Dams in Pará Proposed hydroelectric power stations Proposed renewable energy power stations in Brazil