BR | FR

The multinational company Voltalia is starting the construction of a wind complex in Canudos, a municipality in Brazil. The project provides for the installation of 28 wind turbines as a first step and a further 53 in a second phase. The project will also include a 50-km energy transmission network through the municipality of Jeremoabo.

All the electricity produced will be sold to the CEMIG (energy company of Minas Gerais state) in a contract already signed for the next 20 years. However, this same region is home to the main refuge in Brazil for the Lear's Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari), a species considered to be in danger of EXTINCTION, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and is one of the 7 wonders of nature. The Lear's Macaw has the habit of making long flights every day, about 60 to 80 km. It leaves the dormitory at dawn, feeds in areas neighboring its home, basically on the coconuts of the licuri palm tree, and in the late afternoon can be seen, in flocks, arriving from different directions.

"We think that the operation of a wind farm in the area where the Lear's macaws live is risky. The species flies in pairs and in flocks, so that a single collision event could result in the death of many individuals and compromise the viability of the population in a short time, or even extinguish the species," warns Glaucia Drummond, superintendent of Biodiversitas Foundation.

First described in 1856, the habitat of the Lear's Macaw remained unknown for over a century. It was only in 1978 that researchers discovered its location, in the region known as Raso da Catarina, considered a "key site" by the Global Alliance for Zero Extinction and a priority area of extremely high importance for the conservation of Caatinga biodiversity by Brazil's Ministry of Environment. Because of the improved population numbers, the Lear's Macaw has moved from the IUCN category "critically endangered" to "endangered."

According to Biodiversitas, one of the most striking points about the project is that Voltalia did not need to present a full environmental license to obtain permission for the construction. A resolution from the National Council of the Environment (Conama) establishes the following requirements for wind farms that are located in areas of occurrence of endangered species and restricted endemism: Full Environmental Impact Study, Environmental Impact Report (EIA/Rima) and public hearings.

Therefore, we request the Institute of Environment and Water Resources (Inema), the Bahia Secretary of Environment, the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), and the National Center for Research and Conservation of Wild Birds (CEMAVE), that the requirements of Conama be fulfilled and respected. That a complete Environmental Impact Study, Environmental Impact Report (EIA/Rima), and public hearings be implemented.

Furthermore, we demand that the multinational company Voltalia NOT BUILD the wind farm complex in the habitat of the Lear's Macaw. We do not want to stop progress, we just want it to happen with sustainable management and respect for biodiversity.

We need to save the Lear's Macaw!  #OneMacawMatters

We reinforce the need for public agencies, responsible for issuing environmental licenses, to pay attention to the environmental legislation ruling in the country and to comply with the licensing processes in full, so that this way the Voltalia company can effectively minimize the impacts from a wind farm complex in such a delicate area, as this is one of the last refuges of the endangered Lear's Macaw!

Sign and share so that this absurdity is stopped!!!