Is That Dolphin Supposed to Be Pink?: Energy Independence and Its Impact on the Biodiversity of the Brazilian Amazon.

Daniel Billingsdanbillingsster@gmail.com

Where are we going?

What is biodiversity and why is it important?

The Amazonian Rainforest and Brazil Energy Shortage and Independence The Future

Pipelines

Biodiversity is…

Complicated. “…The key to the

maintenance of the world as we know it.”

Defined as the full variety of life, from genes to species to ecosystems.

Estimations Worldwide Low estimates: 10 million

species Driving to extinction rate: 50-150

per day 10,000 times greater than the

“background” extinction rate Rate increasing yearly

SO WHAT?!?

Future Economical benefits Food stuffs

Latin American produce: $200 million/year 3000 Different Types of Fruit

Medicine Only 1% of Earth’s plant species known

SO WHAT?!?

Environmental Services Protecting and Generating soil

Cost of soil erosion worldwide: $400 billion Converting solar energy into plants Movement of water Detoxification

SO WHAT?!?

Nature Related Tourism Contributes $500 billion to nations

The Amazon

Brazilian Amazon

Biodiversity of the Amazon

Estimation 1 million different species of plants and animals in Amazon

Unique Plants and animals no where else

Biodiversity of the Amazon…Plants

Half of the remaining rain forest on earth

One hectare of forest near Manaus 300 different types of

trees Catalogued 50,000

plants 20% of the world’s total

Biodiversity of the Amazon…Animals

One tree 163 species of beetles

Thus far catalogued 2500 snakes species 2000 fish

Comparison: Mississippi River has 250 1500 birds

Biodiversity of the Amazon…People

Indigenous peoples Historically considered sparse However, evidence shows

migrants in area from 10,000-14,000 years ago

By 1500s, populations denser than today

Then the Iberians came… Importance in the Sustainable

Development argument

Brazil and the Environment

Constitution (Title VIII) Dedicated to Environmental Protection

Right belongs to all Does not belong to government

National Environmental Policy Act of 1981 Not first, but set the ball rolling Established principles, goals

Brazilian Environmental Orgs.

Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) created in 1989 The national Brazilian Ministry of the

Environment’s enforcement agency

Instituto de Protección Ambiental de Amazonas (IPAAM) Executes the State Politics of

Environment of the State of Amazonas

Manaus

Though the numbers were large, no indigenous civilization had sizable villages in Amazonia.

Today, Manaus has 2 million people, a population that tripled in size in the last twenty-five years.

Approximately the size of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States.

Manaus History

Became a major player in the world due to rubber exports as the Amazon was the main supplier. “Paris of the tropics”

However, with synthetic rubber, their power waned.

Teatro Amazonas

“Grand ideas gone awry”

Completed in 1896

As rubber fell, so did condition.

Recently remodeled

Splendid Isolation?

Two roads N. to state of Roraima and

Venezuela S. road washed away in ’80s,

in disrepair. Rebuilt? Most born in Manaus never

venture far, if at all.

Amazonia as a Whole

Manaus is important…we’ll return. But overall, the Amazon region has

experienced the highest urban growth rates in Brazil. 1970, urban population comprised 35.5% of

the total population. 44.6%: 1980 58%: 1991 61%: 1996 68%: 2000

Population growth and Urbanization =

MORE ENERGY! Pipelines Hydroplants

Deforestation Roads Progress?

Go West, Young Man

Energy Shortage of 2001

• Since 1993, increases in:

•Energy generating capacity

•3%

•Consumption

•5%

But… there was a lack of planning and lower investments in energy… And a drought which effected the hydropower which supplied Brazil with 87% of its electric energy.

Energy Shortage of 2001

Rationing and Rainfall Still risk of deficit

Projected Shortfall of 20K to 44K MW

Policy directives that emerged: Increased hydropower generation Expansion of use of natural gas

Which includes the creation of two pipelines

Energy Independence. Automobile edition

A short segue… Ethanol/Gasoline Oil shocks of ’70s began move

However, oil still 85% of gas usage Most efforts to improve efficency Increase production

Oil production has most significant contribution to energy independence.

Manaus and Energy Independence

Rolling blackouts Holding back employment expansion Slowed factory construction “If people want development that

preserves the environment, we have to have energy. It’s no good people saying the Amazon has to be the sanctuary of humanity and forget there are twenty million people living there.”

President Lula da Silva Development agenda

Social Participation Sustainable development National Environmental System Integrated Environmental Policy

Coordinating actions

Progress?

Exploration in the Amazon?

Most of the oil comes from off of the shores of Rio de Janeiro

Solimões Basin

Jurua gas province Urucu oil province

In December 2000, proved reserves and total reserves, for the state of Amazonas, corresponded to approximately 129 million and 157 million barrels of oil and 44 billion and 88 billion m3 of natural gas.

Where is this basin?

And here is why we return to Manaus…

The Urucu Gas Reserve

Small scale since its discovery in 1986

Solved solution of supplying energy to Manaus and the Western Amazon

Now We Need Pipelines! North from Coari to

Manaus 417 km (259 miles)

South from Urucu to Porto Velho 538 km (334 miles)

Cost: $875 million Decreases generation

costs in Manaus to $30/MW/hr

Current costs: $100/MW/hr

IL: 6.69¢/MW/hr

The Producers

Petrobras, the semi-public Brazilian oil company rallied support in The Government Funders in the private

sector Petrobras avoided

public discussion of alternatives, insisted on pipelines

Fears of the opposers

Building Roads = deforestation Water pollution Increased river traffic Migration

Point out that the reserves exhausted in 15 years, leaving behind irreversible impacts

What they were afraid of: The Completed Urucu-Coari Pipeline

Completed in 1998 Blocked three streams used

for drinking water and bathing Fish populations said to have

fallen dramatically Animals will not cross

pipelines Cut down fruit and nut trees

Combined many food sources eliminated

How the Urucu-Coari Pipeline works

Pumped to Coari Loaded onto tankers for a 16 hr.

journey to Manaus 2nd pipeline

Moved cooking gas, also sent by boat Output:

16,000 barrels of oil per day 353 million ft3 of natural gas

The Calvary Arrives A media campaign in

1999 against the project began

By 2001, the attorney general of the State of Amazonas and the Amazonas state government joined the opposition. Lawsuit!

Lawsuits – 2001 (Coari-Manaus)

Alleged that the preliminary environmental license for pipelines did not fulfill legal requirements Did not provide enough to describe impacts on

the environment No alternatives presented No cost/benefit analysis

NEPA? EIS? Lawsuit led to public hearings (2002)

More Lawsuits – 2003 (both)

Again Brought by Govt. Suspension of the temp.

licenses Request accepted

Gave IPAAM Coari-Manaus Gave IBAMA Urucu-Porto

Velho Stopped construction

from Apr. 2003 to May 2004.

May 2004: An Agreement

Governor agreed with Petrobras Gaspetro (branch of Petrobras) must establish a

fund of $3.3 million to: Mitigate impact of Urucu-Porto Velho “Sustainable development” program for Coari-

Manaus Agreement removed lawsuit IPAAM gave go-ahead for Coari-Manaus

Why did the Government Give Up?

Strong support for the project Jobs Political powers like the idea

Governor wanted to lower energy costs to increase support in private sector

But the project is still slow going with plans to start in 2007.

Urucu:Progress in Harmony with Nature

“We want to make the smallest footprint we can.”

No roads into Urucu, must be barged in

1800 workers come and go on 3-day flights

Resembles a military base Wastewater treated Trash recycled, sent to

Manaus Plant nursery

Plan for the Pipelines

Built on same principles as Urucu facility

A small slit of forest without an access road

Helicopter pads along the way for maintenance.

Concerns still present

Degradation of Rivers and Streams Urban to Rural Migration

Oil brings modern “civilization” Purus/Madeira Jurua Tropical Moist Forest Highly biodiverse areas affected

Abufari Biological Reserve Aiapua Lake Environmental Protection

Area

Purus/Madeira

Moist forest between Purus and Madeira Rivers

Very diverse 160 species of

mammals 570 species of birds

Also threatened by deforestation and cattle ranching

Jurua Tropical Moist Forest

Evergreen tropical rain forest Super-high floristic diversity High diversity of timber species 171 species of mammal (121 at mouth

of the Urucu River) 554 species of birds including toucans

Currently no roads But regular deforestation due to oil/NG

Jurua Tropical Moist Forest

Urucu FieldsCoari

Abufari Biological Reserve

Established to control fisheries

Protect endangered species Manatees Podocnemis

turtles Model of

sustainable development

Aiapua Lake Environmental Protection Area

Flooded forest 681 birds

species Over 200

mammal species

Some species restricted to wetland areas

Fruit that fruit-eating fish consume

Long history of human occupation

Lies on edge of this region Of few restricted areas in region

In the end… Progress may run over these regions Just how safe can any pipeline

construction be? No matter the pledges.

Sustainable Development “Gas will give us the energy to allow industry

to grow in Manaus. Gas will give us the energy in small towns to improve their quality of life. Gas will give us the money to do the other things, to improve social services here and to have programs to develop the rest of the state in a way that protects the environment.” - Governor Braga of Amazonas

And Yes, The Dolphin Should Be Pink

In a traditional Amazon River myth, at night a Boto becomes a handsome young man who seduces girls, impregnates them, then returns to the river in the morning to become a Boto again.

A Boto The color varies

from grey to pink

A vulnerable species