Power Lines Invade Venezuelan Parkland
March 17 1997
The Pemon Indians of southeastern Venezuela expressed their
extreme concern at the prospect of high tension power lines
crossing their lands as part of the country's plan to sell
electricity to Brazil. At a meeting of Pemon leaders last week,
letters were sent to various government agencies demanding
further information concerning the project and direct
consultation over any decisions made involving their lands.
In the autumn of 1997, Presidents Rafael Caldera of Venezuela and
Fernando Enrique Cardoso of Brazil signed an agreement to provide
Brazil with electricity by 1998. The agreement requires the
construction of high-tension power lines from the Raul Leoni
complex of dams on the River Orinoco south to Brazil through Bolívar
State and Canaima National Park. The state company EDELCA,
afiliate of the Corporacíón Venezolana de Guayana (CVG), will
tender contracts and supervise the work.
The most likely course of the pylons is thought to be along the
main Troncal 10 highway, which links Venezuela to Brazil's
Roraima State. The lines could cross up to 200 kilometres of
Canaima National Park, depending on which side of the road is
chosen. Irreperable damage to the Sierra de Lema range of
mountains, on the Guyana Shield's and Canaima's northern edge, is
also feared. The range is known for the endemism of its flora and
fauna and its great biodiversity. It is also largely unexplored.
Pemon leaders stated in the letters, "We require this
information as soon as possible in view of the recent media
coverage of the matter, and the presence of technical personnel
surveying in the area. This despite the lack of knowledge of such
activities by public servants in the region in charge of
administering affected areas. We ask for this information in
accordance with article 67 of our Constitution."
Juvencio Gómez, the leading 'captain' of the Gran Sabana's Pemon,
said "We are very worried about the project. It is unjust
that as citizens and aboriginals of this region we are not
involved at any level in decision-making processes. We insist we
be fully informed of projects, of any sort. Dialogue is essential."
On no occasion have the Pemon, who have historically inhabited
eastern Bolívar State been consulted. Neither do they have any
idea of the exact future location of pylons, roads and
prospective health impacts. Other institutions, such as the
country's Institute of National Parks, INPARQUES, are also
ignorant of EDELCA's plans. The only plans to come to light to
date conspicuously stopped short of describing the course of
pylons at the foot of the Sierra de Lema range.
A spokesperson for the Venezuelan Senate's Permanent
Environmental Commission promised to pressure for a full impact
assessment of the project. "We want to minimise the
environmental and social damage the plan could cause. We will be
calling for an open debate of the proposals to ensure as much
participation from all parties affected. The lack of public and
institutional knowledge about such a large-scale and costly
project is frightening."
Canaima National Park was declared a World Heritage Site by
UNESCO in 1995 and is one of the largest and most admired
national parks in the world. Environmentalists believe its
heritage status might well be revoked in view of the project's
social, biological and visual impact.
Recent investigations into the effects of high-tension electric
currents have revealed worrying evidence of their harmful health
impacts, and their adverse effects on magnetic fields and bio-energetic
processes. In view of the region's limited anthropic intervention
to date, the plan's impact will be dramatic.
The region is also known for the great fragility of its soils.
Damage inflicted on top soils in the late Eighties by the
building of the Troncal 10 highway has largely failed to
recuperate, eroding progressively to create 20 feet gulleys which
alter watercourses.
In letters to the President of EDELCA, Efraim Carrera Saúd, and
the Ministry of Health, Pemon leaders demanded detailed
information on the exact trajectory of the powerlines; the
mesures to be employed by CVG-EDELCA to minimise environmental
and social impacts; a description of the activities which EDELCA
will execute in order to carry out maintenance and repair the
lines, and detailed maps drawn by state's surveying agency, the
Dirección de Cartografía Nacional.
Juvencio Gómez said that the Pemon "We want to defend our
lands, our forests, our rivers and way of life. Projects as
potencially destructive as these only benefit large companies and
entrepreneurs, while the majority perceive no improvement. They
want to make the Indian into another white-man's maid."