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Act Alliance: Rapid Response Fund Payment Request No. 10/2014

Pays
Brésil
Sources
ACT Alliance
Date de publication
Origine
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Funds Sent To: Lutheran Foundation of Diaconia - FLD

Amount Sent: US$ 59,972

Date: 1 July 2014

Details of Response

Emergency: Floods in Indigenous territories in Brazil

Date of Emergency: 16 June onwards

ACT Requesting Member(s): Lutheran Foundation of Diaconia - FLD

I. NARRATIVE SUMMARY**

DETAILS OF THE EMERGENCY
From 16 June 2014 continuous torrential rains and severe flooding have affected the Indigenous people Xokleng-Laklãnõ in Santa Catarina state, closed to the North Dam of the Itajaí-Açu River, in the southern Brazilian region. The North Dam, located in the indigenous territory, is one of the three dams that control the water flow to the Valley do Itajaí and main responsible for the floods in this territory . This valley has an urban area of 689.909 inhabitants (Brazilian institute of census and geography,
IBGE/2010).

The indigenous territory Xokleng-Laklãnõ is composed by nine communities, where 640 families have their houses, social centers, schools and health facilities. Due to the floods, four communities remain isolated, four main roads are closed and seven communities still do not have full access to water and food. The preliminary assessments have reported damages to 30 houses, children do not have access to schools due to disruption in transport facilities and most of the adults, who earn daily wages, are unable to attend their work. The Brazilian Meteorological Service forecast has sent a warning for heavy rains in the next days.

These communities have been struggling to resolve their vulnerability created by the construction of a dam in 1992 in their land reservoir, locking up the Hercílio River and splitting the community in many small villages and exposing them to floods. The Federal and State governments were condemned in 2007 by a legal resolution due to the impacts caused by this construction but still there is no compliance from the government. There is a huge need for visibility of the situation, to bring the attention of different human rights organisations and the Federal Prosecution Office.