While hydroelectric dams can seem like a clean and renewable energy source, they cause greenhouse gas emissions, destroy habitats and violate the human rights of the communities they displace. Too often, these projects are pushed forward without consultation with the communities that will be affected by them. AJWS’s partners work with communities threatened by proposed dam projects.
Movimiento de los Afectados por las Represas (Movement of People Affected by Dams—MAR) is part of a larger movement started in the 1970’s when a group of activists in Brazil coalesced to protest a planned hydroelectric dam that would have displaced thousands of people from their homes, razed farmland and destroyed local ecosystems.
In the decades since, activists have continued to fight back against corporations that prioritized profit over people and the planet, and governments that often did the same. MAR also advocated for communities that have been displaced by dams and work to develop alternative energy systems that are more just and responsive to local communities. Many of these hydroelectric projects generate energy for neighboring countries, while local communities do not have access to energy or face disproportionately high energy costs.
This movement has been growing, bringing the lessons they learned in Latin America to Africa, Europe and Asia. Recently, MAR has brought their learnings, solidarity and dialogue to wider groups equally impacted by the energy crisis. They have been working with activists around the world to help them fight back against projects in their own communities. MAR works with dozens of countries on five continents to fight similar battles against dams and for peoples’ land rights, the planet and energy sovereignty—the right of the people to control how energy is generated and distributed.
This year, MAR held its fifth international convening prior to the annual UN Conference of Parties (COP30) in Belem, Brazil. Activists from 50 countries gathered to share intel, solidarity and strategies to win against megaprojects. And now, they are working on an even greater scale. Much like a dam affects communities upstream and downstream, MAR has expanded their mission to explicitly include addressing the climate crisis, particularly for those in the Global South who have done the least to cause climate change but bear the brunt of the impacts.
MAR has also been advocating for women and young people to lead their campaigns. The MAR women’s group shared: “In any situation of calamity, it is women —the affected women — who take the front line. That is why it is essential for us to remain united and connected, even while living in different territories.”
The global gathering in Belem was a chance for MAR to come to agreements about expanding their mission in a way that aligns with their values. Marilin Peña Pérez, a member of MAR shared: “We are committed to a development project that is friendly to nature, out of respect for common goods, for the defense of territories, for development that originates locally, that takes into account the authentic seeds of our land, that respects our flavors, our colors, and our cultural diversity.”
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