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Chapter 2: State and Trends


Figure 2.5.3: Existing, under construction, and planned dams in LAC.


North America


Total GW=215


Latin America


infrastructure (Opperman et al. 2015). In the Amazon basin, there are about 150 hydropower stations in operation, of all sizes, as well as a large number of small dykes in minor waterways, located primarily in the Brazilian Amazon, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the Guianas. Until 2010, about 288 000 kilometres of the Amazon had not been affected by dams, but projects planned and in process could reduce this by 62 per cent (Opperman et al. 2015). It has been noted that the Amazon and La Plata basins will, in the future, be the basins with the most hydropower projects in the region; and from a biodiversity perspective, these areas correspond with ecosystems rich in fish and other fresh-water species, thus posing a threat to fish species diversity (Zarfl et al. 2014, Figure 2.5.3)


Magdalena Total GW=240 Total GW=17.6


Pollution It is estimated that 96 700 million m3


Amazon of water is affected Total GW= 99.3 Paraná Total GW=57.2


by nitrogen-related pollution every year in the LAC region (Mekkonen et al. 2015). The main sources of this pollution are crop production (46 per cent), domestic water (37 per cent), industrial production (17 per cent) and production for exports (7 per cent). It is reported that 3 crops - maize, sugarcane and wheat - account collectively for 52 per cent of freshwater pollution from crop production in the region (Mekkonen et al. 2015).


Hydropower dams


under construction existing


planned


medium low


Basin development


under construction existing


planned Source: Opperman et al. 2015 Fish species richness


high very high


Pesticide pollution by agriculture represents an important pressure to the regional biodiversity. Particular concern arises by its effect on natural and managed pollinators. Although there are no large losses of pollinators reported in the region, increasing agricultural intensification could pose a significant risk to pollinators in the future (van der Valk et al. 2013). Besides its ecological impacts, economical losses could be relevant: in Brazil, annual commodities dependent from pollinators can reach EUR 7 000 million (van der Valk et al. 2013).


Basin Outline


The extractive industries (mining; and oil and gas) are another source of pollution in LAC, and these can have adverse impacts on biodiversity (Maconachie 2015). Such impacts can include removal of habitats to disruption of


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