Coat of arms of Brazil, official version

The coat of arms of Brazil was created on November 19, 1889, four days after Brazil became a republic.
The coat of arms consists of the central emblem surrounded by coffee (at the left) and tobacco (at the right) branches, which were important crops in Brazil at that time.

In the blue circle in the center, the Southern Cross (Portuguese: Cruzeiro do Sul) can be seen. The ring of 27 stars around it represents Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District.

The blue ribbon contains the official name of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil — Federative Republic of Brazil) in its first line. In the second line, the date of the federative republic’s establishment (November 15, 1889) is written.

National Arms

The National Arms of the Republic were instituted by Decree No. 4, with alteration made by Law No. 5443 of 28 May 1968 (Annex No. 8) The making of the National Arms should conform to the proportions of 15 units of height by 14 of width and take into account the following provisions:

1. The round shield will be composed of a sky-blue [azul-celeste] field containing five silver [prata] stars arranged in the form of the Southern Cross, with the bordure [bordura] of the field outlined in gold and charged with silver stars equal to the stars existing in the National Flag (Modification made by Law No. 8421 of 11 May 1972).
2. The shield will be placed on a star parted gyronny of ten pieces, green [sinopla] and gold, bordered by two strips, the inner red [goles] and the outer gold.
3. All placed on a sword in pale, pommelled gold, hilted blue [blau], except for the center part, which is red [goles] and contains a silver star, all upon a crown formed by a branch of coffee fruited on the dexter side and another of flowering tobacco on the sinister side, both in proper colors, tied blue [blau], the whole assembled on a splendor of gold, the contours of which form a star of 20 points.
4. On a blue [blau] scroll, placed over the pommel of the sword, inscribed in gold the legend “República Federativa do Brasil” in the center, and also the phrases “15 de Novembro” on the dexter end and “de 1889″ on the sinister end.

Arms of the Empire of Brazil

The Arms of the Empire of Brazil were used by both Emperors Pedro I and Pedro II until the downfall of the monarchy in 1889. These arms have remained unused since.

On 18 September 1822, eleven days after proclaiming Brazil’s independence Royal Prince Dom Pedro signed a decree instituting these arms stating

“…henceforth the arms of this Empire of Brazil will be, on a green field, a gold armillary sphere superimposed on a cross of the Order of Christ, the sphere encircled by 19 silver stars on a blue circle; and an imperial crown with diamonds set atop the shield, the sides of which will be embraced by two plants of coffee and tobacco, as emblems of its [the Empire's] riches, in their proper colors and tied at the bottom with the national bow-knot.”

On 12 October 1822 when the newly independent country was declared an Empire and Prince Pedro became the country’s first emperor, the coat of arms became known as the Imperial Coat of Arms.

The number of stars in the coat of arms reflected the number of provinces in the Brazilian Empire.

The design of the Crown in the coat of arms changed twice. From 18 September to 12 October 1822, the day when Emperor Dom Pedro I was crowned, the design of the Royal Crown of Portugal was used; from that day until 18 July 1841, the design of the Imperial Crown made for the first Brazilian Emperor was used.

On the latter date, when Brazil’s second emperor, Pedro II was crowned, using a new richer crown that was manufactured for him, the design of such Crown replaced the image of the older diadem in the coat of arms, and remained in use until the downfall of the Empire. That is the best known version of the imperial coat of arms of Brazil.

Coat of arms of the Colonial Brazil, (1500-1815)

Coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, (1816-1821)

Coat of arms of newly independent Brazil until the Coronation of the first Emperor, Pedro I, September 18, 1822 – December 1, 1822

Imperial Coat of arms, design of the first reign (note the crimson velvet within the Crown), kept in usage in the early second reign, until the Coronation of Emperor Pedro II (when the design of the Crown was modified, to reflect the shape of the new Crown, and its dark green velvet cap, December 1, 1822 – July 18, 1840

Imperial Coat of arms, design of the second reign (1840-1889)

Flag of Brazil

The national flag of Brazil (Portuguese: Bandeira do Brasil) is a blue disc depicting a starry sky spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto, within a yellow rhombus, on a green field.

Brazil officially adopted this design for its national flag on November 19, 1889, replacing the flag of the second Empire of Brazil. The concept was the work of Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, with the collaboration of Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares.

The green field and the yellow rhombus from the previous imperial flag were preserved — the green and yellow colors representing the Braganza-Habsburg dynasty. A blue circle with 27 white five-pointed stars replaced the arms of the Empire of Brazil.

The stars, whose position in the flag reflect the sky over Rio de Janeiro on November 15, 1889, represent the union’s federated units — each star representing a specific state.

The motto “Ordem e Progresso” (“Order and Progress”) is inspired by Auguste Comte’s motto of positivism: “L’amour pour principe et l’ordre pour base; le progrès pour but” (“Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal”).

History

Colonial Brazil (1500–1816)

Flag of the Princes of Brazil (1645-1815), the obsoleted title used to indicate the presumptive heirs of the Portuguese throne

The Portuguese territories in the Americas, corresponding roughly to what is now Brazil, never had their own official flag, since the Portuguese tradition was to hoist the flag of the Kingdom of Portugal in all territories of the Portuguese Crown.

The first Brazilian vexillological symbols were private maritime flags used by Portuguese merchant ships that sailed to Brazil. A flag with green and white stripes was used until 1692. The green and white colors represented the House of Braganza and the national colors of Portugal. In 1692, that flag was no longer used by ships that sailed to Brazil and became the flag of the merchant vessels in coastal Portugal.

In 1692, a new flag was introduced for merchant vessels sailing to Brazil. The new flag had a white field with a golden armillary sphere. The armillary sphere was the personal emblem of King Manuel I. During his reign it was widely used by Portuguese ships, and eventually became a national emblem of Portugal and, more specifically, the Portuguese empire.

A similar flag was introduced for the Portuguese ships that sailed to India, but with a red armillary sphere. Despite representing the entire Portuguese empire, the armillary sphere began to be used more extensively in Brazil — the largest and most developed colony at the time — not only in maritime flags, but also on coins and other media. It eventually became the unofficial ensign of Brazil.

Kingdom of Brazil (1816–1822)

Flag of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves (September 1822 – December 1889)

In 1815, Brazil was elevated to the rank of kingdom, and the kingdoms of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves were united as a single state — the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.

The Charter Act of 1816 established the insignia of the new kingdom. It specified that the arms of the Kingdom of Brazil was to be composed of a gold armillary sphere on a blue field.

Empire of Brazil (1822–1889)

Flag of the Second Empire of Brazil, with 20 stars, representing the new provincies of Rio Negro (1850, later Amazonas) and Paraná (1853), furthermore the loss of the province of Cisplatina (1828)

The imperial flag of Brazil was designed by Jean-Baptiste Debret as the Royal Standard of the Prince Royal of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, Pedro I.

After the Brazilian Declaration of Independence, and with the coronation of Pedro I as Emperor of Brazil, the Royal Standard was modified to become the flag of the Empire of Brazil. The new flag featured the imperial coat of arms within a yellow rhombus, on a green field. The green and yellow colors represented the dynastic houses of Pedro I and his consort Maria Leopoldina of Austria.

The imperial flag was slightly modified during the reign of Pedro II, when an extra star was added to the imperial arms to conform to the new territorial organization of the country.

Republic of Brazil (1889–)

First Flag of the United States of Brazil (November 19, 1889 – April 14, 1960)

Upon the proclamation of the Republic, one of the civilian leaders of the movement, the lawyer Ruy Barbosa, proposed a design for the nation’s new flag strongly inspired by the flag of the United States.

It was flown from November 15, 1889, until November 19, 1889, when Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca — acting as provisional president of Brazil — vetoed the design, citing concerns that it looked too similar to the flag of another state.

Fonseca suggested that the flag of the new republic should resemble the old imperial flag. This was intended to underscore continuity of national unity during the transition from a constitutional monarchy to a republic.

Raimundo Teixeira Mendes presented a project in which the imperial coat of arms was replaced by a blue celestial globe and the positivist motto. It was presented to Fonseca, who promptly accepted. The flag was designed by a group formed by Raimundo Teixeira Mendes, Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis and Décio Villares. It was officially adopted on November 19, 1889.

On May 12, 1992, the flag was modified with the addition of six stars to the celestial globe — representing the newly created states, and a slight change in the stars’ positions was made to match the astronomical coordinates correctly.

Design

The decree no. 4, issued on November 19, 1889, legally replaced the flag used under the constitutional monarchy with the new national flag. On May 11, 1992, the law no. 8,421, altered the celestial globe with the addition of six stars.

Construction

Official dimensions of the national flag of Brazil, according to Federal Law 8421, of May 11th, 1992

The official design of the Brazilian Flag is defined by law no. 5,700, issued on September 1, 1971.

The flag’s length is twenty modules and the width, fourteen, translating into an aspect ratio of 7:10. The distance of the vertices of the yellow rhombus to the outer frame is a module and seven-tenths (1.7m). The blue circle in the middle of the yellow rhombus has a radius of three and a half modules (3.5m). The center of the arcs of the white band is two modules (2m) to the left of the meeting point of the extended vertical diameter of the circle with the base of the outer frame. The radius of the lower arc of the white band is eight modules (8m) and the radius of the upper arc of the white band is eight and a half modules (8.5m). The width of the white band is a half of a module (0.5m).

The caption “Order and Progress” is written in green letters. The letter P lies on the vertical diameter of the circle. The letters of the word “Order” and the word “Progress” are a third of a module (0.33m) tall. The width of these letters are three-tenths of a module (0.30m). The conjunction E has a height of three-tenths of a module (0.30m) and a width of a quarter of a module (0.25m).

The stars are of five different sizes: first, second, third, fourth and fifth magnitudes. They are drawn within circles whose diameters are: three-tenths of a module (0.30m) for the first magnitude, a quarter of a module (0.25 m) for the second magnitude; a fifth of a module (0.20m) for the third magnitude, a seventh of a module (0.14m) for the fourth magnitude, and a tenth of a module (0.10m) for the fifth magnitude.

Stars

Professor Paulo Araújo Duarte of the Federal University of Santa Catarina, bears this out, saying

“In truth, the creators of our republican flag intended to represent the stars in the sky at Rio de Janeiro at 8:30 in the morning on 15 November 1889, the moment at which the constellation of the Southern Cross was on the meridian of Rio de Janeiro and the longer arm [of the cross] was vertical.”

Another article, citing “O Céu da Bandeira (The Sky of the Flag)”, by J.R.V. Costa, says the exact time was actually 08:37. This last article includes the designer of the flag’s explanation of his intentions regarding the stars.

According to Brazil’s national act number 5,700 of 1 September 1971, the flag portrays the stars as they would be seen by an imaginary observer an infinite distance above Rio de Janeiro standing outside the firmament in which the stars are meant to be placed. Thus Beta Crucis appears to the right of the constellation and Delta Crucis to the left, in mirror image of the way they actually appear in the sky (and, coincidentally, the way they appear on the Brazilian coat of arms).

Diagram of the constellations and stars on the flag of Brazil

The star Spica is the only one above of the white band, it symbolizes part of Brazilian territory in the northern hemisphere (and the State of Pará). The Sigma Octantis (south pole star) is small , but all the other stars turn around of it, the only position in the sky of south hemisphere represents the stability of the Federal District in the Brazilian Union. The shining star in constellation represent the size of territory of the State in the Brazilian region (constellation).

The flag of Brazil contains 27 stars representing the Brazilian states and the Federal District. The constellation of the Southern Cross is on the meridian (indicated by the number 6 in the diagram). To the south of it is Polaris Australis (Sigma Octantis, numbered 7), representing the Federal District. The motto appears on a band roughly coincident with the ecliptic. A single star lies above the band, representing the large northern state of Pará, which straddles the Equator.

A list of constellations and stars on the map:

1. Procyon (α Canis Minoris)
2. Canis Major, with the largest star depicting Sirius
3. Canopus (α Carinae)
4. Spica (α Virginis)
5. Hydra
6. Crux Australis
7. Sigma Octantis (σ Octantis; south pole star)
8. Triangulum Australe
9. Scorpius, with the largest star depicting Antaress Minor, the Little Dog

Flag protocol

The flag being replaced in a monthly ceremony held at the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília

The federal law no. 5,700, issued on September 1, 1971, defines the flag protocol in Brazil.

The flag must be permanently hoisted at the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília. The flag must be raised and lowered daily at the presidential palaces (Palácio do Planalto and Palácio da Alvorada); ministries; National Congress; Supreme Federal Tribunal; Supreme Court of Justice; seats of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches; diplomatic missions; Federal, state and local institutions; and merchant navy units.

When a flag is no longer fit to use, it must be delivered to a military facility to be burned during a special ceremony on November 19 (“Flag Day”).

The flag must be flown at half-staff when the President decrees official mourning. In addition, state and local governments may decree official mourning with the death of a Mayor or Governor. When the flag is displayed at half-staff, prior to raising or lowering it, the flag must be raised to the top of the flagpole and then lowered to the halfway mark. When the flag is being carried in procession, a black crape ribbon must be tied to the top of the mast.

Foreign flags may only be flown with a Brazilian Flag along its right side. The only exceptions are when the foreign flag is displayed in an embassy or consulate and in prizing ceremonies of sport competitions won by foreign athletes. When multiple flags are raised or lowered simultaneously, the Brazilian Flag must be the first to reach the top of the flagpole and the last to reach the bottom.

Other flags

Naval jack

The Brazilian naval jack (jaque) is a rectangular flag (ratio 3:4) bearing 21 white stars on a dark blue field — a horizontal row of 13 and a vertical column of 9, orthogonally displayed.

Naval Jack of Brazil

Governmental flags

The president and vice president are also represented by their own flag.

The Presidential Standard is a dark green rectangle (ratio 2:3) holding the national coat of arms on its center. It is usually hoisted at the President’s official residence, the Palácio da Alvorada, and at the President’s workplace, the Palácio do Planalto. It is also displayed on the presidential car, as small-sized flags.

The Vice Presidential Standard is a yellow rectangle (ratio 2:3) with twenty-three blue stars disposed in a cross dividing the flag into four equal quadrants, with the coat of arms in the middle of the upper left quadrant.

Presidential Flag of Brazil

Flag of the Vice-President of Brazil

Panorama of the sertão in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Rio Grande do Norte — “Great River of the North”, in reference to the mouth of the Potengi River, is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern region of the country, occupying the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent.

Because of its geographic position, Rio Grande do Norte has a strategic importance. The capital and largest city is Natal. It is the land of the folklorist Luís da Câmara Cascudo and, according to NASA, it has the purest air in the Americas.

Its 410 km (254 mi) of sand, much sun, coconut palms and lagoons are responsible for the fame of its beaches. Rocas Atoll, the only such feature in the Atlantic Ocean, is part of the state.

The main economic activity is tourism, followed by the extraction of petroleum (the second largest producer in the country), agriculture, fruit growing and extraction of minerals, including considerable production of seasalt, among other economic activities.

The state is famous for having many popular attractions such as the Maior cajueiro do mundo (world’s largest cashew tree), the dunes and the dromedaries of Genipabu, the famous beaches of Ponta Negra, Maracajaú and Pipa’s paradise, the Carnatal the largest off-season carnival in Brazil,[8] the Forte dos Reis Magos is a medieval fortress, the hills and mountains of Martins, the Dunas Park the second largest urban park in the country, and several other attractions. The state is also closest to the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.

Geography

Map locator of Brazil's Rio Grande do Norte state

Rio Grande do Norte is dominated by its coastline. The state is famed for its beaches and sand dunes, and the air is, according to NASA, the second-cleanest in the world after Antarctica.

Two climates predominate: humid tropical, in the oriental littoral, and semi-arid, in the remaining (most part) of the State (including the North coast).

The rainforest which once covered most of Brazil’s coast had its northern end in the south of Rio Grande do Norte; the area north of Natal, the capital, is under dunes, a kind of formation associated with semi-arid climate. The semi-arid climate is characterized not only by the low level but also the irregularity of rainfall; some years can go by with no or very little rain; most of the interior of the State is part of the Polygon of Droughts (an area which receives special attention from the federal government).

There are also many mangroves in the state, and the interior is dominated by rainforest. Rocas Atoll in the Atlantic Ocean, 260 km Northeast of Natal, also belongs to the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

History

Natal Historic Center

The first European to reach the region may have been the Spaniard Alonso de Ojeda in 1499. The northeastern tip of South America, Cape São Roque, 20 miles (32 km) to the north of Natal, was first officially visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day.

The Vespucci expedition also named the Potengi (Tupi for “River of Shrimps”) river, whose considerably large mouth contrasted with the nearby bodies of water, “Rio Grande” (Portuguese for “Great River”), after which the Captaincy, Province, and State were named. For decades thereafter, no permanent European settlement was established in the area, inhabited by the Potiguar tribe.

In the 16th century (between 1535 and 1598), it was explored by French pirates in search for brazilwood. In 1598, the Portuguese built the Forte dos Reis Magos and, in the following year, founded the city of Natal. Rasing cattle and sugarcane plantation lifted the local development and economy.

In 1633, the area became a battleground between the expansionist Portuguese, seeking to take more land for their Brazilian territories, and the Dutch, who gained a foothold in South America.

After a short period of peace and prosperity in Olinda and Recife, the sugar prices went down in the market of Amsterdam and the region entered into a serious economic crisis. The economic problems led the Portuguese settlers and native Brazilians to revolt against the Dutch in what is known today as the massacres of Cunhaú and Uruaçu.

The religious confrontations (the Portuguese-Brazilian Catholicism and the Dutch Calvinism), Portugal’s restoration of the throne in 1640 and the reconquest of Maranhão in 1643, lead the Portuguese-Brazilians to undertake the 1645 uprising, led by André Vidal de Negreiros and João Fernandes Vieira. The governor of Bahia promised new Portuguese troops, but most of the rebels were Africans and Amerindians. In 1654, the Dutch were finally cast out.

During World War II, Rio Grande do Norte was used as an Allied airbase from which to launch air raids on German-occupied North Africa.

In 1964, Latin America’s first space launch site was constructed in Rio Grande do Norte; Barreira do Inferno (Hell’s Barrier), which was often referred to as the “Brazilian NASA”.

Demographics

According to the IBGE of 2008, there were 3,153,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 51.98 inhabitants per square kilometre (134.6 /sq mi). Urbanization: 72.4% (2006); Population growth: 1.6% (1991–2000); Houses: 832,000 (2006). Obelisk International is an investment company involved in building homes in the state.

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 1,877,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (59.51%), 1,168,000 White people (37.04%), 97,000 Black people (3.08%), 8,000 Asian people (0.24%), 1,000 Amerindian people (0.03%).

Economy

Port of Natal

The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 50.2%, followed by the industrial sector at 44.2%. Agriculture represents 5.6% of GDP (2004). Rio Grande do Norte exports: fish and crustacean 30.5%, fruits 19.3%, woven of cotton 12.3%, petroleum 10.8%, cashew 8.5%, sugar 5.3%, chocolate 3.9%, sea salt 3.7% (2002). Share of the Brazilian economy: 0.9% (2004).

Historically, Rio Grande do Norte has relied upon sugar and cattle for its livelihood. However, since the 1980s, the state government has realised that tourism is a lucrative industry, and more money is being poured into the construction of tourist resorts, and restoring colonial buildings in major cities.

Fruit is also grown in Rio Grande do Norte, with the state supplying 70% of Brazil’s melons, and the state is famed for its mango and cashew fields. The world’s largest cashew tree is located in the state; it has a circumference of 500 centimetres and occupies an area of 7,300 cm², making it 70 times the size of average cashew trees.

Rio Grande do Norte is also one of three Brazilian states that together produce the world’s entire supply of carnauba wax.

Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

Educational Institutions

• Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte)
• Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) (State University of Rio Grande do Norte)
• Universidade Potiguar (UnP) (Potiguar University)
• Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (Ufersa) (Rural Federal University of Semi-Arid)
• Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN) (Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte)
• and many others

Culture

Saint John’s Day

Fireworks in Saint John Festival

Festa Junina was introduced to Northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese for whom St John’s day (also celebrated as Midsummer Day in several European countries), on the 24th of June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year.

Differently, of course, from what happens on the European Midsummer Day, the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the summer solstice but during the tropical winter solstice.

The festivities traditionally begin after the 12th of June, on the eve of St Anthony’s day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint Peter’s day. During these fifteen days, there are bonfires, fireworks, and folk dancing in the streets.

Once exclusively a rural festival, today in Brazil it is largely an urban festival during which people joyfully and theatrically mimic peasant stereotypes and clichés in a spirit of jokes and good times. Typical refreshments and dishes are served.

It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on Midsummer and St John’s Day in Europe, bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.

Infrastructure

According to research by Fundação Dom Cabral, Rio Grande do Norte is the second state with the best infrastructure in the Northeast Region and ninth in the country.

International Airport

Located virtually at sea level (169 ft), with favorable weather and geographic conditions, Augusto Severo International Airport in Parnamirim is 18 kilometers from Natal (RN). It takes its name from Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão, a native son of that state who died in an accident in France in 1902.

The airport has a total area of 11.3 thousand square meters and capacity for 1.2 million passengers a year. The installations and passenger terminals are air conditioned with equipment that can put out 630 tons of cooled air. With an area of 5.5 million square meters, the airport complex operates with 16,482 square meters of passenger and cargo terminals and administrative and maintenance installations.

There are 6,224 meters of runways and 61.5 square meters of apron space, providing connections from the greater Natal region to the main centers of the world. The airport is the only one in the Northeast Region to receive charter flights from Scandinavia.

Port

The Port of Natal is specialized in cold storage cargo such as fruit, fish and shrimp, among others. It has its own customs facilities and is connected to Europe by direct navigation lines, mainly to the ports of Vigo, Rotterdam and Sheerness.

Sports

Natal, the capital of state, is one of 12 cities to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Brazil.

Flag

The flag of Rio Grande do Norte

The flag of Rio Grande do Norte was adopted on December 3, 1957. It is based on a design by Luis de Camara Cascudo.

In the middle of the flag is the coat of arms of the state, which was adopted on July 1, 1909. It shows a sailing boat at the coast in the middle, representing the fishing and salt industries. Above it is a bar which shows two flowers on the sides and two cotton bolls in the center. To the sides of the shield are a coconut palm to the right and a carnauba palm to the left, connected by two branches of sugar cane. The star above represents the state as part of Brazil.

CGI rendition of the main dam, Belo Monte

The Belo Monte Dam (formerly known as Kararaô) is a proposed hydroelectric dam complex on the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil.

The planned installed capacity of the dam complex would be 11,233 megawatts (MW), which would make it the second-largest hydroelectric dam complex in Brazil and the world’s third-largest in installed capacity, behind the Three Gorges Dam in China and the Brazilian-Paraguayan Itaipu Dam. However, guaranteed capacity generation from the Belo Monte Dam would measure 4,571 MW, 39% of its maximum capacity.

Transmission lines would connect electricity generated by the dams’ turbines to the main Brazilian power grid, which would distribute it throughout the country, both for public consumption (up to 70%) and as a dedicated power plant for industries such as mining and mineral transformation (up to 30%).

However, there is opposition among the international community to the project’s potential construction; regarding its economic viability, generation inefficiency, and impacts to the region’s people and environment. In addition, critics worry that construction of the Belo Monte Dam could make the construction of other dams upstream with greater impacts more viable and possible.

Plans for the dam began in 1975 but were soon shelved due to controversy; they were later revitalized in the late 1990s. In the 2000s, the dam underwent new designs, renewed controversy and impact assessments. On 26 August 2010, a contract was signed with Norte Energia to construct the dam once the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) had issued an installation license.

A partial installation license was granted on 26 January 2011 but construction was blocked by a federal judge on 25 February. On 3 March, that decision was overturned by a higher court allowing preliminary construction to begin. The license to construct the dam was issued on 1 June 2011.

Project History

Plans for what would eventually be called the Belo Monte Dam Complex began in 1975 during Brazil’s military dictatorship, when Eletronorte contracted the Consórcio Nacional de Engenheiros Consultores (CNEC) to realize a hydrographic study to locate potential sites for a hydroelectric project on the Xingu River. CNEC completed its study in 1979 and identified the possibility of constructing five dams on the Xingu River and one dam on the Iriri River.

Original plans for the project based off of the 1979 study included two dams close to Belo Monte. These were: Kararaô (called Belo Monte after 1989), Babaquara (called Altamaria after 1998) which was the next upstream. Four other dams were planned upstream as well and they include the Ipixuna, Kakraimoro, Iriri and Jarina.

Protestors against the dam — the sign translates to "pile of dung"

The project was part of Eletrobras’ “2010 Plan” which included 297 dams that were to be constructed in Brazil by 2010. The plan was leaked early and officially released in December 1987 to an antagonistic public.

The plan had Belo Monte to be constructed by 2000 and Altamaria by 2005. Such a speedy timetable was due to the belief that Brazil’s relatively new environmental regulations could not stop large projects.

The government offered little transparency to the people who would be affected regarding its plans for the hydroelectric project, provoking indigenous tribes of the region to organize what they called the I Encontro das Nações Indígenas do Xingu (First Encounter of the Indigenous Nations of the Xingu) or the “Altamira Gathering”, in 1989.

The encounter, symbolized by the indigenous woman leader Tuíra holding her machete against the face of then-engineer José Antonio Muniz Lopes sparked enormous repercussions both in Brazil and internationally over the plans for the six dams. As a result, the five dams above Belo Monte were removed from planning and Kararaô was renamed to Belo Monte at the request of the people of that tribe. Eletronorte also stated they would “resurvey the fall”, meaning resurvey the dams on the river.

Redesign

Between 1989 and 2002, the Belo Monte project was redesigned. The reservoir’s surface area was reduced from 1,225 km2 (473 sq mi) to 440 km2 (170 sq mi) by moving the dam further upstream. The main rationale for this was to reduce flooding of the Bacajá Indigenous Area.

In 1998, the Babaquara Dam was again placed into planning but under a new name, the Altamaria Dam. This surprised local leaders as they felt plans for the dams above Belo Monte were cancelled.

Some officials in Brazil were determined to build a dam on a river with an average flow of 7,800 m3/s (275,454 cu ft/s) and at a site that offers a 87.5 m (287 ft) drop. One engineer said of the dam: “God only makes a place like Belo Monte once in a while. This place was made for a dam.”

President of Eletronorte, José Muniz Lopes, in an interview with the newspaper O Liberal (Belo Monte entusiasma a Eletronorte por Sônia Zaghetto, 15/07/2001), affirmed:

“Within the electric sector’s planning for the period 2010/2020, we’re looking at three dams – Marabá (Tocantins river), Altamira (previously called Babaquara, Xingu River) and Itaituba (São Luís do Tapajós). Some journalists say that we are not talking about these dams because we’re trying to hide them. It’s just that their time has not yet come. We’re now asking for authorization to intensify our studies for these dams. Brazil would be greatly benefited if we could follow Belo Monte with Marabá, then Altamira and Itaituba.”

Second Study

In 2002, Eletronorte presented a new environmental impact assessment for the Belo Monte Dam Complex, which presented three alternatives. Alternative A included the six original dams planned in 1975. Alternative B included a reduction to four dams, dropping Jarina and Iriri. Alternative C included a reduction to Belo Monte only.

The new environmental impact assessment contained reductions in reservoir size and the introduction of a run-of-the-river model, in contrast to the large reservoirs characteristic of the 1975 plans.

Also in 2002, Workers’ Party leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva earned a victory in his campaign for president, having originally run a failed campaign in 1985 after the fall of the military dictatorship. Lula soon brokered political deals with the center and right-wing sectors in 2003, especially with ex-president José Sarney of the state of Maranhão of the PMDB, which would set the precedent that eventually characterized the two Lula administrations: cooperation between the market and the state, a combination of a free market economy with larger social spending and welfare. This economic model provided the rationale and financial support for new efforts to construct Belo Monte.

In 2007, at the beginning of Lula’s second term in office, a new national investment program was introduced: the Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento (Program to Accelerate Growth). The Belo Monte Dam Complex figured as an anchor project of the new investment plan.

In 2008, another new environmental impact assessment was written, this time by Eletrobras with the participation of Odebrecht, Camargo Corrêa, and Andrade Gutierrez, which formally accepted Alternative C or the construction only of the Belo Monte dam itself. The assessment also presented further design changes; in order to avoid inundating indigenous territory, which is not permitted by the Brazilian Constitution, the new design included two canals to divert the water away from indigenous territories and into a reservoir called the Reservatorio dos Canais (Canals Reservoir).

An additional reservoir would be created called the Reservatorio da Calha do Xingu (Xingu Riverbed Reservoir), and electricity would be generated from the two reservoirs using three dams: a complementary powerhouse called Pimental (233 MW), a complementary spillway called Bela Vista, and the main powerhouse called Belo Monte (11,000 MW). The Reservatorio dos Canais would be retained by over a dozen large dikes, and water from the reservoirs would be channeled towards the main powerhouse.

However, transparency of the government’s plans once again became an issue, sparking indigenous tribes of the region to organize another large meeting, called the Segundo Encontro dos Povos do Xingu (the Second Encounter of the Peoples of the Xingu) in the city of Altamira, Pará on 20 May 2008.

First License Granted

In February 2010, Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA granted a provisional environmental license, one of three licenses required by Brazilian legislation for development projects. The provisional license approved the 2008 environmental impact assessment and permitted the project auction to take place in April 2010.

In April 2010, Odebrecht, Camargo Corrêa, and CPFL dropped out of the project tender, arguing that the artificially low price of the auction (R$83/USD$47) set by the government was not viable for economic returns on investment. On 20 April 2010, the Norte Energia consortium won the project auction by bidding at R$77.97/MWh, almost 6% below the price ceiling of R$83/MWh.

A large rally was held in Brasilia on April 12, 2010 to call for the cancellation of Belo Monte Dam in the Amazon.

After the auction, local leaders around the project site warned of imminent violence. Kayapó leader Raoni Metuktire stated: “There will be a war so the white man cannot interfere in our lands again.” U.S. film director James Cameron also visited the site prior to the auction and stated he would produce an anti-Belo Monte Dam film called Message From Pandora which was later released in November.

In April 2010 the Brazilian Federal Attorney General’s Office suspended the project tender and annulled the provisional environmental license on claims of unconstitutionality.

Specifically, Article 176 of the Federal Constitution states that federal law must determine the conditions of mineral and hydroelectric extraction when these activities take place in indigenous peoples’ territories, as is the case for the “Big Bend” (Volta Grande) region. As a result, the electric utility ANEEL canceled the project auction. The same day, the appellate court for Region 1 disenfranchised the Attorney General’s suspension, reinstating the project auction at ANEEL.

On 26 August 2010, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed the contract with the Norte Energia at a ceremony in Brasilia. Construction is not permitted to begin on the Belo Monte Dam Complex until IBAMA grants the second of the federally required environmental licenses, called the Installation License.

The Installation License can only be granted once Norte Energia shows indisputable proof that it has met 40 socio-environmental mitigation conditions upon which the first provisional environmental license was conditioned. According to an October 2010 IBAMA report, at least 23 conditions had not been met.

Reports indicate that on 14 January 2011, a report from staff members of FUNAI, Fundação Nacional do Índio, (National Indian Foundation) had sent a report to IBAMA expressing concerns about the location of the project, its impact on reservation land, and the lack of attention to needs of the indigenous people, especially the Paquiçamba and recommending that FUNAI oppose any license to operate. Despite this report, FUNAI senior management sent IBAMA a letter on 21 January 2011 stating that it did not oppose the issuance of a limited construction license.

On 26 January 2011, a partial installation license was granted by IBAMA, authorizing Norte Energia to begin initial construction activities only including forest clearing, the construction of easement areas, and improvement of existing roads for the transport of equipment and machinery.

In February 2011, Norte Energía signed contracts with multiple suppliers for the design, production, installation and commissioning of generation and associated equipment.

On 1 June 2011, IBAMA granted the full license to construct the dam after studies were carried out and the consortium agreed to pay $1.9 billion in costs to address social and environmental problems. The only remaining license is one to operate the dam’s power plant.

Federal Court Case

On 25 February 2011, the Federal Public Prosecutor filed its 11th lawsuit against Belo Monte Dam, suspending IBAMA’s partial installation license, on the grounds that the Brazilian Constitution does not allow for the granting of partial project licenses. The Federal Public Prosecutor also argued that the 40 social and environmental conditions tied to IBAMA’s provisional license of February 2010 had yet to be fulfilled, a prerequisite to the granting of a full installation license.

On 25 February 2011, Brazilian federal judge Ronaldo Destêrro blocked the project citing environmental concerns. It was Brazil’s biggest public hearing ever. The ruling was described by The Guardian as “a serious setback”.

President of a federal regional court Olindo Menezes overturned the decision on 3 March 2011 saying there was no need for all conditions to be met in order for preliminary work to begin. Construction site preparation began with a week after the decision.

Design

The Belo Monte Dam complex (AHE Belo Monte) consists of three dams, numerous dykes and a series of canals in order to supply two different power stations with water. The Pimental Dam (3°27′33″S 51°57′31″W) on the Xingu will be 36 metres (118 ft) tall, 6,248 metres (20,499 ft) long and have a structural volume of 4,768,000 cubic metres (168,400,000 cu ft).

It will create the Calha Do Xingu Reservoir which will have a normal capacity of 2,069,000,000 cubic metres (1,677,000 acre·ft) and surface area of 333 square kilometres (129 sq mi). The dam will support a power station and its spillway will serve as the complex’s principal spillway with 17 floodgates and a 47,400 cubic metres per second (1,673,915 cu ft/s) maximum discharge.

The dam’s reservoir will also divert water into two 12 km (7 mi) long canals. These canals will supply water to the Dos Canais Reservoir which is created within the “Big Bend” by the Belo Monte Dam (3°06′44″S 51°48′56″W), a series of 28 dykes around the reservoir’s perimeter and the Bela Vista Dam (3°19′46″S 51°47′27″W) which lies on the Dos Canais Reservoir’s eastern perimeter.

The Belo Monte Dam will support the main power station in the complex. The power station will contain 20 x vertical Francis turbines listed at 550 MW (max 560 MW). Supplying each turbine with water is a 113 metres (371 ft) long, 11.2 metres (37 ft) diameter penstock, affording an average of 89.3 metres (293 ft) of hydraulic head. The Pimental Dam’s power station will contain seven Kaplan bulb turbines, each rated at 25.9 MW and with 13.1 metres (43 ft) of hydraulic head.

The Belo Monte Dam will be 90 metres (300 ft) tall, 3,545 metres (11,631 ft) long and have a structual volume (embankments included) of 25,356,000 cubic metres (895,400,000 cu ft) while the Bella Vista will be 33 metres (108 ft) high, 351 metres (1,152 ft) long and have a structural volume of 239,500 cubic metres (8,460,000 cu ft).

The Dos Canais Reservoir will have a normal capacity of 1,889,000,000 cubic metres (1,531,000 acre·ft), a normal surface area of 108 square kilometres (42 sq mi) and a normal elevation area of 97 metres (318 ft) above sea level. The Bela Vista Dam which serves as the complex’s secondary spillway will have a maximum discharge capacity of 14,600 cubic metres per second (520,000 cu ft/s).

Power Generation and Distribution

The planned capacity of Belo Monte is listed at 11,233 MW. It is composed of the main Belo Monte Dam, and its turbine house with an installed capacity of 11,000 MW. The Pimental Dam which also includes a turbine house will have an installed capacity of 233.1 MW, containing 25.9 MW bulb turbines. The generation facility is planned to have 20 Francis turbines with a capacity of 550–611 MW each.

In February 2011, Norte Energía signed contracts with:

• IMPSA worth $450 million to design and install by the fall of 2015 four Francis turbine generation units to provide 2,500 MW of power
• Andritz AG to provide 3 Francis turbines and the 6 bulb turbines, and the 14 excitation systems for the main power house and additional equipment for the Pimental power house
• Alstom worth $682.3 million to provide 7 Francis turbines, and 14 gas insulated substations for the facility

Capacity

Walter Coronado Antunes, the former Secretary of the Environment of the state of São Paulo, and ex-President of the state water and sanitation utility Sabesp has claimed that the Belo Monte Dam Complex will be one of the least efficient hydropower projects in the history of Brazil, producing only 10% of its 11,233 MW nameplate capacity between July and October (1,123 MW, and an average of only 4,419 MW throughout the year, or a 39% capacity factor).

According to the President of Brazil’s Energy Research Company (EPE), 39% is “just a little below” Brazil’s average of 55%. Normally, the capacity factor of hydroelectric power plants is between 30% and 80% while wind power is typically between 20% to 40%.

According to a study by Eletrobras, even when at reduced capacities, Belo Monte would still have the capacity to supply the entire state of Para with electricity.

Availability

Critics claim that the project will only make financial sense if the Brazilian government builds additional dam reservoirs upstream to guarantee a year-round flow of water thus increasing the availability of generation.

Supporters of the project point out that the seasonal minimum flow of the Xingú river occurs at a time when other Brazilian hydro plants are well supplied, so that no additional dams would have to be built.

Reportedly, Brazil’s National Council for Power Policies approved a resolution, previously sanctioned by then president Lula, that only one hydroelectric dam would be built on the Xingu. With one dam, critics don’t see an advantage regarding the dam’s cost to benefit ratio and question why the government would just want to construct one.

Additional upstream dams would directly and indirectly affect 25,000 indigenous peoples in the entire Xingú basin. Of particular note is the Altamira (Babaquara) Dam which would flood an additional 6,140 square kilometres (2,370 sq mi) of reservoir, according to its original design.

Developer

The project is developed by the Norte Energia consortium. The consortium is controlled by the state-owned power company Eletrobras, which directly (15%) and through its subsidiaries Eletronorte (19.98%) and CHESF (15%) controls a 49.98% stake in the consortium.

In July 2010, the federal holding company Eletrobras stated that there were 18 partners and reported their adjusted share in the project:

• Eletronorte (subsidiary of Eletrobras) – 19.98%
• Eletrobras, state-owned company – 15%
• CHESF (subsidiary of Eletrobras) – 15%
• Bolzano Participacoes investments fund – 10%
• Gaia Energia e Participações (Bertin Group) – 9%
• Caixa Fi Cevics investments fund – 5%
• Construction firm OAS – 2.51%
• Queiroz Galvão, construction company – 2.51%
• Funcef pension fund – 2.5%
• Galvão Engenharia, construction company – 1.25%
• Contern Construções, construction company – 1.25%
• Cetenco Engenharia, construction company – 1.25%
• Mendes Junior, construction company – 1.25%
• Serveng-Civilsan, construction company – 1.25%
• J Malucelli, construction company – 1%
• Sinobras – 1%
• J Malucelli Energia, construction company – 0.25%

The Norte Energia consortium construction companies were reported to have originally held a 40% share.

Economics

Amazon Watch depiction of the Belo Monte Dam's economic, environmental and social cost

The dam complex is expected to cost upwards of $16 billion and the transmission lines $2.5 billion. The project is being developed by the state-owned power company Eletronorte, and would be funded largely by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).

The project will also include substantial amounts of funding from Brazilian pension funds Petros, Previ, and Funcef. Private investors interested in the project include mining giants Alcoa and Vale, construction conglomerates Andrade Gutierrez, Votorantim, Grupo OAS, Queiroz Galvão, Odebrecht and Camargo Corrêa, and energy companies GDF Suez and Neoenergia.

In 2006, Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) analyzed different cost-benefit scenarios for Belo Monte as an energy project, excluding environmental costs. Initial benefits appeared marginal. When simulating energy benefits using a modeling system it became obvious that Belo Monte would require additional upstream dams to provide water storage for dry season generation.

CSF concluded that Belo Monte would not be sustainable without the proposed Altamira (Babaquara) dam which would have a reservoir more than 10 times the size of Belo Monte’s, flood 30 times the area submerged by Belo Monte, indigenous territories of the Araweté/Igarapé Ipixuna, Koatinemo, Arara, Kararaô and Cachoeira Seca do Irirí natives.

Due to the project’s lack of economic viability and lack of interest from private investors, the government has had to rely on pension funds and lines of credit from BNDES that draw from the Workers’ Assistance Fund, oriented towards paying the public debt, to finance the project; up to one-third of the project’s official cost would be financed by incentives using public monies.

Alternatives

WWF-Brazil released a report in 2007 stating that Brazil could cut its expected demand for electricity by 40% by 2020 by investing in energy efficiency. The power saved would be equivalent to 14 Belo Monte hydroelectric plants and would result in national electricity savings of up to R$33 billion (US$19 billion).

Ex-director of ANEEL Afonso Henriques Moreira Santos stated that large dams such as Belo Monte were not necessary to meet the government’s goal of 6% growth per year. Rather, he argued that Brasil could grow through increasing its installed capacity in wind power, currently only at 400 MW.

Environmental Effects

The project is strongly criticized by indigenous people and numerous environmental organizations in Brazil plus organizations and individuals around the world.

Belo Monte’s 668 square kilometres (258 sq mi) of reservoir will flood 400 square kilometres (150 sq mi) of forest, about 0.01% of the Amazon forest.

The environmental impact assessment written by Eletrobras, Odebrecht, Camargo Corrêa, and Andrade Gutierrez listed the following possible adverse effects:

• The loss of vegetation and natural spaces, with changes in fauna and flora
• Changes in the quality and path of the water supply, and fish migration routes
• Temporary disruption of the water supply in the Xingu riverbed for 7 months

Incomplete Environmental Assessment

In February 2010, Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA granted an environmental license for the construction of the dam despite uproar from within the agency about incomplete information in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) written by Eletrobras, Odebrecht, Camargo Corrêa, and Andrade Gutierrez.

Previously in October 2009, a panel composed of independent experts and specialists from Brazilian universities and research institutes issued a report on the EIA, finding “various omissions and methodological inconsistencies in the EIA…” Among the problems cited within the EIA were the project’s uncertain cost, deforestation, generation capacity, greenhouse gas emissions and in particular the omission of consideration for those effected by the river being mostly diverted in the 100 km (62 mi) long “Big Bed” (Volta Grande).

Two senior officials at IBAMA, Leozildo Tabajara da Silva Benjamin and Sebastião Custódio Pires, resigned their posts in 2009 citing high-level political pressure to approve the project. In January 2011, IBAMA president Abelardo Azevedo also resigned his post. The previous president Roberto Messias had also stepped down, citing in April 2010 that is was because of pressure from both the government and environmental organizations.

140 organizations and movements from Brazil and across the globe decried the decision-making process in granting the environmental license for the dams in a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2010.

Loss of Biodiversity

Hypancistrus zebra, one of the species found only in the Volta Grande

The fish fauna of the Xingu river is extremely rich with an estimated 600 fish species and with a high degree of endemism, with many species found nowhere else in the world.

The area either dried out or drowned by the dam spans the entire known world distribution of a number of species, e.g. the Zebra Pleco (Hypancistrus zebra), the Sunshine Pleco (Scobinancistrus aureatus), the Slender Dwarf Pike Cichlid (Teleocichla centisquama), the plant-eating piranha Ossubtus xinguense and the Xingu Dart-Poison frog (Allobates crombiei).

An independent expert review of the costs of the dam concluded that the proposed flow through the Volta Grande meant the river “will not be capable of maintaining species diversity”, risking “extinction of hundreds of species.

Greenhouse Gas Budget

The National Amazon Research Institute (INPA) calculated that during its first 10 years, the Belo Monte-Babaquara dam complex would emit 112 million metric tons of Carbon dioxide equivalent, and an additional 0.783 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent would be generated during construction and connection to the national energy grid.

Dams in Brazil emit high amounts of methane, due to the lush jungle covered by waters each year as the basin fills. Carbon is trapped by foliage, which then decays anaerobically with help from methanogens, converting the carbon to methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. As a result, carbon emissions are emitted from the dam each year it is in operation.

A 1990 study of the Curuá-Una Dam, also in Brazil, have found that it pollutes 3.5 times more in carbon dioxide equivalent than an oil power plant would, but none of the non-CO2 atmospheric pollution associated with fossil fuel burning. Furthermore, the forest will be cleared before flooding of the area, so the CO2 and methane emissions calculated for the flooding of the forested area will be significantly undercut.

On the other hand, the energy generated by the dam for the next 50 years, at an average of 4419 MW, is 1.14 bboe (billion barrels of oil equivalent). This is approximately 9% of the proven oil reserves of Brazil (12.6 bbl), or 2% of the total oil reserves of Russia (60 bbl), or 5.5% of the proven oil reserves of the U.S (21 bbl).

The environmental consequence of energy generated by the dam is much less carbon-dioxide than if the same energy were produced by oil or thermo-electricals. In addition, the electricity currently generated to power cities and plants in the Amazon region come from dirty and unreliable sources such as thermo-electricals (using wood, coal or oil to produce energy).

Social Effects

Although strongly criticized by indigenous leaders, the president of Brazil’s EPE claims they have popular support for the dam. An April 20, 2010 Folha de Sao Paulo poll showed 52% in favor of the dam.

The dam will directly displace over 20,000 people, mainly from the municipalities of Altamira and Vitoria do Xingú. Two river diversion canals 500 metres (1,600 ft) wide by 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long will be excavated. The canals would divert water from the main dam to the power plant. Belo Monte will flood a total area of 668 square kilometres (258 sq mi). Of the total, 400 square kilometres (150 sq mi) of flooded area will be forested land.

The river diversion canals will reduce river flow by to 80% in the area known as the Volta Grande (“Big Bend”), where the territories of the indigenous Juruna and Arara people are located. While these tribes will not be directly impacted by reservoir flooding, and therefore will not be relocated, they may suffer involuntary displacement, as the river diversion negatively affects their fisheries, groundwater, ability to transport on the river and stagnant pools of water offer an environment for water-borne diseases, an issue that is criticized for not being addressed in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Among the 20,000 to be directly displaced by reservoir flooding, resettlement programs have been identified by the government as necessary for mitigation. Norte Energia have failed to obtain free, prior, and informed consent from the Juruna and Arara indigenous tribes to be impacted by Belo Monte.

The project would also attract an estimated 100,000 migrants to the area. An estimated 18,700 direct jobs would be created, and an additional 25,000 indirect jobs.

The IBAMA Report

The IBAMA’s environmental impact assessment has listed the following possible impacts:

• The generation of expectations towards the future of the local population and indigenous people
• An increase in population and uncontrolled land occupation
• An increase in the needs of services and goods, as well as job demand
• A loss of housing and economic activities due to the transfer of population
• Improvements on the accessibility of the region
• Changes in the landscape, caused by the installation of support and main structures for the construction of the dam
• Damage to the archeological estates in the area
• Permanent flooding of shelters in Gravura Assurini

Ribeiro da Silva, who was also known by the nickname Ze Claudio, campaigned against illegal logging, deforestation and ranchers. He originally worked as a community leader at a forest reserve that produced sustainable rainforest products, such as oils and nuts.

I will protect the forest at all costs. That is why I could get a bullet in my head at any moment…

He became an anti-logging activist as illegal logger began to encroach further into untouched areas of Pará, his largely forested homestate in northern Brazil. He and his wife, Maria do Espírito Santo, had received death threats for his activism in favor of the preservation of Brazil’s rainforest.

In 2008, a report issued by a group of Brazilian human rights groups listed Ribeiro da Silva one of a dozen activists based in the Amazon to be “considered at risk” of harm or assassination by opponents.

Two other environmental activist were also killed soon after Da Silva — Eremilton Pereira dos Santos, a farmer who was killed in the same area of Pará, and Adelino Ramos, a farmer and leader of the Corumbiara Peasant Movement in Rondonia, who was shot while selling vegetables on May 27, 2011.

The Brazilian government pledged to protect Amazonian activists in an emergency cabinet meeting held on May 31, 2011, to deal with the crisis.

The host city of the Games will be Rio de Janeiro as announced at the 121st IOC Session (which is also the 13th Olympic Congress) held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 2, 2009. They are scheduled to be held from August 5 to 21, 2016. The 2016 Summer Paralympics will be held in the same city and organized by the same committee, and are scheduled to be held from September 7 to 18.

The Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be the first edition held in South America, the second in Latin America (after Mexico City), the third edition held in the southern hemisphere (the first of which outside of Australia), and the first Games in a lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country.

This will be the second time the country has hosted the competition, the first being the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Brazil will become the fifth country to have hosted the FIFA World Cup twice, after Mexico, Italy, France and Germany.

It will be the first World Cup to be held in South America since the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, the first time two consecutive World Cups are staged outside Europe and the first time two consecutive World Cups are staged in the Southern Hemisphere (the 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa).

Virgin Mata Atlântica in Pernambuco — Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves — UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Atlantic Forest (Portuguese: ‘Mata Atlântica’) is a region of tropical and subtropical moist forest, tropical dry forest, tropical savanna, semi deciduous forest and mangrove forests which extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the north to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south, and inland as far as Paraguay and the Misiones Province of Argentina.

The Atlantic Forest region includes forests of several variations.

• The coastal restingas are low forests which grow on stabilized coastal dunes.
• The coastal forests, also known as Atlantic moist forests, are evergreen tropical forests with structures.
• Inland are the interior forests, also known as the Atlantic semi-deciduous forests, where many trees drop their leaves during the dry season.
• Further inland are the Atlantic dry forests, which form a transition between the arid Caatinga to the northeast and the Cerrado savannas to the east.
• Montane moist forests occur in the Serra do Mar and across the mountains and plateaus of southern Brazil, and are home to Araucaria and evergreen trees of the laurel (Lauraceae) and myrtle (Myrtaceae) families.
• Shrubby montane savannas occur at the highest elevations.

Virgin Mata Atlântica in Paraná

The Atlantic Forest is unusual in that it extends as a true tropical rainforest to latitudes as high as 24°S. This is because the trade winds produce precipitation throughout the southern winter. In fact, the northern Zona da Mata of northeastern Brazil receives much more rainfall between May and August than during the southern summer.

The Atlantic Forest is now designated a World Biosphere Reserve, which contains a large number of highly endangered species including the well known marmosets, lion tamarins and woolly spider monkeys. It has been extensively cleared since colonial times, mainly for the farming of sugar cane and for urban settlements.

The remnant is estimated to be less than 10% of the original and that is often broken into hilltop islands.
The Amazon Institute is active in reforestation efforts in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Brazil. During 2007, Joao Milanez and Joanne Stanulonis have planted 5,500 new trees in the mountains commencing with Gravata, adding to the precious little, ancient forest left.

During glacial periods, however, the Atlantic Forest is known to have shrunk to extremely small refugia in highly sheltered gullies, with most of the land area more recently occupied by the characteristic Atlantic Forest being occupied by dry forest or even semi-desert.

Some maps even suggest the forest actually survived in moist pockets well away from the coastline, where its endemic rainforest species mixed with much cooler-climate species. Unlike refugia for equatorial rainforests, the refuges for the Atlantic Forest have never been the product of detailed identification.

Ecoregions

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

• Araucaria moist forests
• Atlantic Coast restingas
• Bahia coastal forests
• Bahia interior forests
• Caatinga enclaves moist forests
• Paraná-Paraíba interior forests
• Pernambuco coastal forests
• Pernambuco interior forests
• Serra do Mar coastal forests

Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests

• Atlantic dry forests

Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

• Campos Rupestres montane savanna

Mangroves

• Bahia mangroves
• Ilha Grande mangroves
• Rio Piranhas mangroves
• Rio São Francisco mangroves

Iguaçu (Iguazu) Falls, Iguaçu National Park — Paraná State, Brazil

Iguaçu National Park is a national park in Paraná State, Brazil. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Created by federal decree nr. 1035 of January 10, 1939, the Park comprises a total area of 185,262.5 hectares and a length of about 420km, 300km of which are natural borders by bodies of water and the Brazilian and Argentinean sides together comprise around 225 thousand hectares.

On November 17, 1986, during the UNESCO conference held in Paris, the Iguaçú National Park was listed as Natural Heritage of Humanity and is one of the largest forest preservation areas in South America.

The Iguaçú National Park owes its name to the fact it includes an important area of the Iguaçú river, approximately 50km of the length of the river and the world famous Iguaçú Falls.

It is the most important park of the Prata Basin and, since it is a haven to a significant genetic asset of animal and vegetal species, it was the first park in Brazil to receive a Management Plan.

The Iguaçú National Park is spectacular as well as pioneering. The first proposal for a Brazilian national park aimed at providing a pristine environment to “future generations”, just as “it had been created by God” and endowed with “all possible preservation, from the beautiful to the sublime, from the picturesque to the awesome” and “an unmatched flora” located in the “magnificent Iguaçú waterfalls”. These were the words used by Andre Rebouças, an engineer, in his book “Provinces of Paraná, Railways to Mato Grosso and Bolivia”, which started up the campaign aimed at preserving the Iguaçú Falls way back in 1876, when Yellowstone, the first national park on the planet, was four years old.

In Brazil the Park has boundaries with the following municipalities: Foz do Iguaçu, Medianeira, Matelândia, Céu Azul, São Miguel do Iguaçu, Santa Terezinha de Itaipu, Santa Tereza do Oeste, Capitão Leônidas Marque, Capanema and Serranópolis.

As foreseen by Rebouças, the park’s basic goal is the preservation of the highly relevant ecologically and scenic natural ecosystems, thus enabling scientific research and the development of environmental education and interpretation activities, recreation in natural surroundings and the ecological tourism.

The Park is located in the westernmost region of the state of Paraná, in the Iguaçú river basin, 17km from downtown Foz do Iguaçú. It borders Argentina, where the Iguazu National Park, which was implemented in 1934, is located.

The border between the two countries and their national parks is made by the Iguaçú river, whose source is near the Serra (mountain range) do Mar near Curitiba and runs for 18 km throughout the state of Paraná. The river estuary is located 18km downriver from the Falls, where it flows into the Paraná river. This meeting of rivers forms the triple Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay border.

The area of the park open for visitation and where the concession areas of Cataratas do Iguaçú S/A are located, accounts for approximately 0.3% of the total area of the park.

The most spectacular sightseeing of the park is the Iguaçú Falls, which form a 2,700m wide semicircle, while the waterfalls filled visitors with awe as they watch the water foam that plunges down from a height of 72m.

The number of waterfalls ranges from 150 and 300 depending on the Iguaçú river flow. Besides the exuberant waterfalls, there are other attractions such as rich fauna, the Poço Preto (the Black Well), the Macuco Waterfall, the Visitors Center, the Santos Dumont Statue, a homage paid by VASP (an airline company) to the “Father of Aviation”, who lent all his prestige and efforts in turning the falls area into a National Park.