Written by Ricardo Tello
Wednesday, 10 August 2011 00:41
A few kilometers away from the community of Rio Negro, home to the community leader Sixto Tustón, there is a plan to build a central hydroelectric plant, at the confluence of the rivers Topo, Zhúñag and Pastaza, which, according to a group that is against the works, will inundate the lower basin of the Topo and cover part of the old-growth and primary forest. The area is gateway to the Amazon jungle foothills of the Cordillera Oriental reaching 1500 meters above sea level. In total, eight hydroelectric projects are planned in the Pastaza basin and its tributaries: Topo 1 and 2; Habitagua 1 and 2; Muyo Lligua 1 and 2, and Verde Chico River 1 and 2, all operated by the National Electricity Council (CONELEC, in Spanish).
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The first one to be constructed would be the Topo 1, although the project is stopped due to a legal claim filed in by the Provincial Chamber of Tourism of Tungurahua arguing the unconstitutionality of the environmental license granted by the CONELEC to the company Proyectos Energía Medio Ambiente, which is responsible for the project. Furthermore there is the opposition from the people that live in Baños de Agua Santa – in the province of Tungurahua, 180 kilometers from Quito - that are currently collecting signatures to ask the National Electoral Council to carry out a
referendum to see what is the future they want to give to the water, plea that is guaranteed by the current Constitution. "This region has been home of two other projects like this in the country, we are not willing to lose more waterfalls," firmly says Ximena Guevara, environmental and tourism promoter.
The Pastaza is formed by the confluence of the Chambo and the Patate Rivers. It is divided into Upper Pastaza - from its source to the mouth of the river Huasaga – and Lower Pastaza, going from the mouth of the Huasaga River until its outfall in the Marañón River, in Peru. The Pastaza River basin is the third largest watershed of Ecuador, with an area of 23,057 km² and an average annual rainfall of 3.255 mm. It cuts through five provinces that have a total population of about 1.370.000, corresponding to 11.28% of the country.
The Topo and Zhúñag Rivers are tributaries of the Pastaza. The Topo is born in Llanganates, at 4.571 meters above sea level, famous mountain range of Ecuardor’s central highlands where it is believed is hidden the treasure that will save the life of the Inca Atahualpa, who was prisoner of the Spanish during the Conquest. Its maximum flow rate has reached 120 cubic meters per second.
The Zhúñag, also a tributary of the Pastaza, has twice as much flow as the Topo.
Loss of species
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The existence of the
Myriocolea Irrorata – plant that is of the group of the liverwort and part of the briofitas - is almost myth within the population of the town of Baños de Agua Santa. No one had ever seen it since it was included in
the travel log of the English botanist Richard Spruce, which in 1857 made a trip along the Topo River in the Tungurahua province, central highlands of Ecuador. Rob Gradstein, from the German University of Gottingen, saw the plant again in 2001. The plant is endemic, grows between 1,200 and 1,700 meters above sea level, depends on high humidity and light, is found in the first five meters of the bank of the Topo River, and is under threat of disappearing due to the construction of the dams.
Tustón Sixto has worked in the San Francisco hydroelectric project, built a few kilometers west of the Topo River by the Brazilian company Odebrecht. He says he fears for the "river dog" that nurtured him with freshwater, for the preñadillas (
astroblepys sp) fish that are rarely found, for the orchids that are considered unique and especially for the water. "We cannot lose part of the flow of the river or maybe the whole river, as took place in the San Francisco and Agoyán" says Tuxtón.
End of waterfalls
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The waterfall Agoyán was once a symbol for the region’s tourism. The Baños de Agua Santa anthem and the shield of the province of Tungurahua forever marked its imposing presence. It was forever gone after the first hydroelectric project was built.
Similar thing took place in the San Francisco project, led by the construction company Odebrecht, which
was banished from the country by President Rafael Correa after an audit pointed to several faults incurred by the company. When the project began to take 11 kilometers of Agoyán water through a tunnel, the slopes of the San Francisco, El Churo, La Esperanza, Machay, Barbacha, Verde River, La Delicia, El Placer, and the Escudilla all slowly dried up. "When I got up at dawn, I could no longer hear the roar of the San Jorge waterfall. It was unbelievable, all the water was gone", says Alcides Diaz, Baños de Agua Santa environmental leader.
The other side
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Wilson Mendez, sociologist in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility plan of Hidrotopo, company which will operate the Topo hydroelectric project, says that this work is part of the current government Master Plan for Electrification, for which they have the relevant environmental licenses, permits of construction and operation, among others. It was authorized in 2006.
He ensures that the project includes the construction of a dam. "It will generate 22.7 megawatts (MW) and up to 29 MW. That is a relatively small project with different components, without reservoir. Besides it is not true that the projects Topo Two, Habitagua, Muyo Lligua, etc are all ongoing", says Mendez.
According to Mendez, a maximum of 10 cubic meters per second (m3s) will be taken from the Topo River, which in times of low water flow is of 25 m3s. "That's the concession given to us by the water authority," he says. Hidrotropo is a private company that obtained, for its location, 90 acres of land. However, he says, the power plant will be built only in an area of six hectares. "So the opposition is gratuitous."
Mendez disqualifies groups protesting against the project and says they are a minority. He also accuses Lou Jost, the American biologist based in Baños de Agua Santa, who is known as the re-discoverer of the
Myriocolea Irrorata, of "not clearly explaining the functionality of the liverwort plant which he claims to protect, and which won’t be affected". O Eco Amazonia tried to contact the biologist, but didn’t succeed. Only time will tell how the projects threaten Baños de Agua Santa.
Learn More:
Complete article in Nature Foundation webpage
Hydroelectric Pollution
Built to destroy, by
Karina Miotto
Ricardo Tello is a free-lance journalist. He was the editor of daily newspapers El Universo of Guayaquil and El Tempo of Cuenca. He has won several awards such as the Jorge Matilla Ortega, in Ecuador and in the first call for Grants for Investigative Journalism by the Avina Foundation. Currently, he divides his time with being a University teacher.
