There is no Fish to Catch This Summer: Reflections on Environmental Effects during the Construction of Large Dams – the Belo Monte Case

Abstract

Most anthropological studies do not analyzes the environmental effects of the construction of large dams. In this text, from field research conducted in the Belo Monte construction context, we intend to show how, from the point of view of those who experience them, the social and environmental effects of the pre-operation period are not negligible or merely temporary. During construction, the flow of machines, equipment and personnel for the construction site and its surroundings focus on territories and natural resources that are condition for social and economic reproduction of people and communities. The accumulated traditional knowledge provides the seizure of subtle changes in the environment, including fish behavior and other components of the aquatic fauna, changes in water turbidity, vegetation and other, as well as changes in social relations, including restrictions on the movement of people and objects. The gradient magnitude can not be out of the context in which it occurs. Should have as unit of measurement the lived sense. Institutionally and politically there must be recognition of the epistemology of production and reproduction of traditional knowledge, with appropriate channels so that the evaluations produced from it are also considered.