Stop the Monster Dam: Support Urgent Action Fund for the Xingu and its People

In addition to supporting the ongoing mobilizations of indigenous and traditional communities of the Xingu River Basin in the Brazilian Amazon against the Belo Monte "Monster" Dam, this project supports legal costs to bring a series of lawsuits against the dam to justice in Brazil. Brazilians and our allies around the world have launched the Belo Monte: Justice Now! campaign to appeal to Brazil's judiciary to urgently rule upon lawsuits that are currently stalled in its courts. If the rule of law is followed, these cases could paralyze construction of the Belo Monte Dam.

The Dilma government's blatant obstruction of justice sets a dangerous precedent for the Amazon and its people, and for this reason we are asking the global community to help support our human right to democracy and due process of law. Your donation will support our coalition of human rights defenders in its appeal that Brazilian judges urgently resolve the outstanding lawsuits against the Belo Monte Dam.

The Brazilian government's reckless plans to build the Belo Monte Dam would carve the world's 3rd largest dam into the heart of the Amazon, diverting nearly the entire flow of the Xingu River along 100 kilometers and devastate an extensive area of the Amazon rainforest, threatening the survival of indigenous and traditional peoples, and displacing over 40,000 people. These communities are ready to mobilize in resistance but need your support to make this happen.

Since the Brazilian government issued the license for the Belo Monte Dam on June 1, 2011, there has been growing local, national and international outcry. Regular protests have taken place in major Brazilian cities and internationally calling on Brazil to defend the Amazon and indigenous rights. Several occupation activities in the dam's key construction sites this year have temporarily paralyzed the project, however construction has continued in blatent disregard to the Brazilian Constitution, national laws, and international human rights conventions.

Amazon Watch is working with a coalition of Brazilian and international organizations to stop the dam, providing direct support to affected indigenous and traditional communities while serving as a bridge between media, legal, and grassroots representatives in Brazil and their supporters internationally.

Together we've gathered and delivered MILLIONS of global petition signatures; we've organized protests; we've filed lawsuits; we've reached out to celebrities, politicians and academics; we've received favorable media coverage; we've promoted clean energy alternatives and, we've even presented a petition to the Inter-American Commission of the Organization of American States and, in response, Brazil was ordered to stop construction, but the Dilma government ignored the order and moved ahead with its plans to build this dam.

With more than 80 percent of the Belo Monte dam to be funded by BNDES (the Brazilian National Development Bank), Belo Monte is a critical battle in the fight for the Amazon and for Latin America's future. Belo Monte is the gateway dam for over 60 proposed dams throughout the Amazon.

Indigenous and traditional communities are not giving up and neither are we. Your support is needed NOW to support the last stand in defense of the Xingu River and its people! Please donate to the Xingu Urgent Action Fund today!