Hydropower at the Frontier of Urbanisation

Abstract

The Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam on the Lower Xingu River has severely affected the river’s water pulse and threatens a multitude of endemic species and indigenous nations. A great number of dams are expected to be constructed in the years to come in the Amazon river basin which will bring further devastation. Historically, Indigenous and local populations have always opposed such endeavours and the preservation of biodiversity and forests within their territories is crucial to decelerate and revert climate change effects. Indigenous nations steward and protect over 80% of the world’s biodiversity even though they are only 5% of the world’s population. Despite this, defence of indigenous rights and land demarcation has been slow. Moreover, recommendations to expand hydropower generation have gained traction to enable the energy transition, as seen in last year’s Glasgow COP26.

This proposal exposes the impact of Belo Monte dam on human and non-human existences and proposes an analytical framework which envisions the territory through a multitude of perspectives as well as various management arrangements. This framework intends to propose methods which can facilitate shared occupation and enable the coexistence of diverse groups in the region through policy and design.

The limits of urban practice when acting over such territories must be questioned and re-defined. If our field intends to position itself within such regions, we must begin to propose an alternative paradigm which can adequately territorialize cosmopolitics. Is Cosmourbanism achievable?