PRB

The Amazon rainforest, including its river network, is rapidly approaching a critical point at which more than half of its ecosystems will be permanently and drastically altered. Preventing or slowing this process requires action to preserve the rainforest and ecosystems that exist today, especially those that have been less altered by development.

The Amazon Rainforest is an essential global resource, but existing dams harm river ecosystems, threaten the wellbeing of indigenous people and local communities and endanger the cultural heritage of Brazilian riverine communities. This fact sheet outlines steps that global and national partners can take to preserve Amazonian rivers.

The information presented in this policy brief is based on the research project “Linking Sustainability of Small-Scale Fisheries, Fishers’ Knowledge, Conservation, and Co-Management of Biodiversity in Large Rivers of the Brazilian Amazon,” led by Dr. Renato Silvano of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul with Dr. Gustavo Hallwass at Universidade Federal de Lavras.

This innovation brief describes the growing impact of hydroelectric dams on the Amazon River ecosystem in Brazil, including changes to landscapes, wildlife diversity and food security for local communities. It offers recommendations for improving existing policy instruments to ensure that assessments for new dams in the basin include flooded environments and impacts on the broader ecosystem.