Bidding for the dam contracts is still weeks away, but already the $11 billion project, which will directly generate some 27,000 jobs, has whipped expectations to fever pitch. Local officials are keen to tap into the economic bonanza that is sure to follow the earthmoving machines. The French chain Carrefour is reportedly weighing a supermarket franchise. High-rises and hotels are springing up, and two shopping centers are already under construction. But authorities also fear being overwhelmed by a flood of migrants inevitably drawn to such major public works. And while most of the newcomers will land in cities and towns, the fallout is sure to spread, as roads, farms, and businesses push into the forest.
Yet even the best policing in the world might not help. “If you look at the environmental safeguards for each of these projects, they seem impressive,” says Tim Killeen, a biologist and tropical forest scholar with Conservation International. “But you can’t consider them in isolation. The dams generate cheap energy for industry, which draws job seekers, who need to be housed and fed, which means building and farms. It’s a perfect environmental storm.”
