London, Jun 17.- Scientists from Brazil, Germany, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States predicted the start of a climatic catastrophe in the Amazon region, in a report published by specialized magazine Nature Friday.
According to an international group of experts the disproportioned installation of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon region, of which 140 are already under construction, will have a catastrophic ecological impact.
If definitely carried out, the initiative of satisfying the energy needs of South America, by means of 428 dams, might put the Amazon region in serious risk, modifying the flux of nutrients carried by the rivers, the biology of the place, and even the weather.
The main degradation factors for ecosystems are deforestation, alterations of the rivers fluxes, massive lost of biodiversity and soil erosion. But the dimension of the damages may be not only regional, but also hemispheric, something that is much more alarming.
The accumulated negative environmental effects of existing dams and proposed dams, if constructed, will trigger massive hydro physical and biotic disturbances that will affect the Amazon basin's floodplains.
If all the dams are definitely constructed, its accumulative effect will provoke a change in the sediments that flow to the Atlantic Ocean, what might hinder the climate of the whole area, warned Edgardo Latrubesse, chief of the team.