January 27, 2004
Boca del Cerro - Stay vigilant

There's a concern that believing the current CFE statements (that they only plan low structures that won't change the river) will allow them time to regroup and begin building large dams instead. Even if they build only low structures, there may be unintended damage to habitat and archaeological evidence.

Chris Shaw presents these concerns in terms that are very similar to those on the TropicoVerde website, quoted below.

Chis Shaw:

CFE's current claims that no large storage dam is planned, ... would eliminate, at least in their minds, the archaeology and terrestrial flooding arguments, as well as some of the hurricane and earthquake concerns. They can also say they have kept their promise to increase energy generation.

Four or five low-heads, however, would destroy a one-of-a-kind aquatic ecosystem about whch almost nothing is known, and probably wipe out other undescribed aquatic species (to say nothing of affecting the centlas). They would probably also destroy a certain number of river's edge archaeological structures, as well as navigation for local travel and toursism. And in any case, where are the environmental impact reports? What about the impact of new roads, for instance?

We need to make a statement that low-heads in the main corridor don't get them off the hook, and that last year we rejected any bank-to bank structures. We need to assert that archaeology and patrimony are about more than "treasure," i.e, tombs etc, and as much involved with preserving the ancient landscape, which records the old culture in its whole cloth.

TropicoVerde:

Tropicoverde pagina 4 del boletin

El gobierno de México ha cambiado en repetidas ocasiones la altura de la represa de Boca del Cerro. Documentos recientes de la CFE afirma que “cambió la concepción de los esquemas de sus proyectos hidroeléctricos a presas de baja altura, procurando así proyectos ambientalmente sustentables, que no afecten el patrimonio cultural del país, ni inunden grandes extensiones de terreno” (CFE,2003a).

Además plantea que el proyecto Boca del Cerro tendrá una altura de 48.5 m (originalmente era 135 m) y con este cambio afirman que: “no involucra territorio de la Republica de Guatemala, no inunda la Selva Lacandona, no impide el paso de nutrientes y organismos acuáticos hacia los pantanos de Centla, debido a que al operar al “hilo de corriente” se garantiza el escurrimiento natural del río, tal y como se ha presentado históricamente”(CFE,2003b).

Sin embargo, la realidad de otros proyectos de represas demuestra que siempre hay grandes impactos ambientales, como el impedimento de la migración de las especies que viven en el río y la alteración de las condiciones físicas, químicas y biológicas de las cuencas. Entre los impactos sociales cabe mencionar daños a sitios arqueológicos, desplazamiento de la población e impedimento a la libre navegación del río. Es importante resaltar que aún cuando se cambie la altura de Boca del Cerro el proyecto global es muy cuestionable.

Posted by Dave at January 27, 2004 07:39 PM