The Andes-Amazon-Atlantic pathway: A foundational hydroclimate system for social-ecological system sustainability.

The Amazon River Basin's extraordinary social-ecological system is sustained by various water phases, fluxes, and stores that are interconnected across the tropical Andes mountains, Amazon lowlands, and Atlantic Ocean. This "Andes-Amazon-Atlantic" (AAA) pathway is a complex hydroclimatic system linked by the regional water cycle through atmospheric circulation and continental hydrology. Here, we aim to articulate the AAA hydroclimate pathway as a foundational system for research, management, conservation, and governance of aquatic systems of the Amazon Basin. We identify and describe the AAA pathway as an interdependent, multidirectional, and multiscale hydroclimate system. We then present an assessment of recent (1981 to 2020) changes in the AAA pathway, primarily reflecting an acceleration in the rates of hydrologic fluxes (i.e., water cycle intensification). We discuss how the changing AAA pathway orchestrates and impacts social-ecological systems. We conclude with four recommendations for the sustainability of the AAA pathway in ongoing research, management, conservation, and governance.

Two decades of clear-cutting threats in the Brazilian Amazonian protected areas around the Jirau, Santo Antônio, and Belo Monte large dams.

Deforestation rates in the Amazon have markedly increased in the last few years, affecting non-protected and protected areas (PAs). Brazil is a hotspot of Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement (PADDD) events, with most events associated with infrastructure projects. Despite the threats dams impose on PAs, there is a knowledge gap in assessing deforestation in PAs around large dams in the Amazon. This study investigates how deforestation affects Biodiversity Protection Areas (BioPAs) and Indigenous Lands around the Jirau and Santo Antônio (JSA) dams (Madeira River, Rondônia) and Belo Monte dam (Xingu River, Pará) in the Brazilian Amazon. We compared clear-cutting between PAs and control areas and the annual rates of forest change between pre-dam and post-dam periods. We discussed deforestation-related factors (e.g., PADDD events and the presence of management plans or councils). Our results show an increase in deforestation after the operation of the dams when environmental control from licensing agencies decreases and other political and economic factors are in practice. Indigenous Lands experienced a significant increase in deforestation around the Belo Monte dam, which is associated with the demarcation process and land conflicts. Surrounding the JSA dams, sustainable use BioPAs showed high deforestation rates, and 27 PADDD events were reported, four directly related to dams. In addition to dams, deforestation was associated with the crisis of Brazilian democracy and the weakening of environmental policies. In conclusion, the weak environmental control from environmental licensing agencies during dam operation and PADDD events have contributed to increased deforestation rates and additional stresses in the Amazon.

Poverty-Food Insecurity Nexus in the Post-Construction Context of a Large Hydropower Dam in the Brazilian Amazon.

Within the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, large hydropower dams are positioned as a sustainable energy source, notwithstanding their adverse impacts on societies and ecosystems. This study contributed to ongoing discussions about the persistence of critical social issues, even after the investments of large amounts of resources in areas impacted by the construction of large hydropower dams. Our study focused on food insecurity and evaluated this issue in the city of Altamira in the Brazilian Amazon, which has been profoundly socially and economically impacted by the construction, between 2011 and 2015, of Brazil's second-largest dam, namely, Belo Monte. A survey in Altamira city featured a 500-household random sample. Structural equation modeling showed conditioning factors of 60% of the population experiencing varying food insecurity degrees. Poverty, female-led households, lower education, youth, and unemployment were strongly linked to higher food insecurity. Crowded, officially impacted, and resettled households also faced heightened food insecurity. Our findings underscore the food insecurity conditions in the region impacted by the Belo Monte dam, emphasizing the need to take into account this crucial issue while planning and implementing hydropower dams.