![\"Map](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/20211217_Ilheus-Caetite-railway-EN.svg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/div> The Porto Sul is the coastal hub of a three-part plan that also includes Pedra de Ferro \u2013 an iron ore mine in the inland city of Caetit\u00e9 \u2013 and the West\u2013East Integration Railroad (Fiol), which connects these two points, 510 kilometres apart. Scheduled to open in 2026, the terminal will be able to handle up to 42 million tonnes<\/a> of ore and grain per year for export to countries such as China.<\/p>\n The mine in Caetit\u00e9, the port in Ilheus and the stretch of railway that connects them belong to the same company, Bahia Minera\u00e7\u00e3o (Bamin), whose controlling stake is held by the Kazakh company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG). The group has businesses<\/a> in Russia, China and African nations, and is the subject of an ongoing, eight-year investigation<\/a> by the UK\u2019s Serious Fraud Office for suspected corruption<\/a>.<\/p>\n The construction of the port alone, according to Bamin, will require an investment of 4 billion reais<\/a> (US$697 million), to be made entirely by the company, which was also responsible for the construction of the wooden cabin where Jo\u00e3o Ferreira currently lives. \u201cAfter much insistence,\u201d in his words.<\/p>\n Porto Sul will consist of an on-land storage area and a maritime section located 3.5 kilometres from the coast, though the complex is only in the early stages of construction, as signs currently hanging outside the site indicate. The natural and human impacts, however, are already beginning to emerge.<\/p>\n 42 million tonnes<\/strong><\/p>\n In Itariri, 17 hectares of the Atlantic Forest are being cut down to make way for a road that will connect the railway to the port. As a result of this deforestation, which was authorised by the Institute for the Environment and Water Resources of Bahia (INEMA), a number of water springs have been exposed.<\/p>\n Di\u00e1logo Chino visited the region in October and found at least ten springs surrounded by tarpaulins, installed by Bamin in an attempt to prevent the imminent death of the water sources. According to the latest Brazilian census \u2013 from 2010, and therefore already outdated \u2013 more than 3,000 people live in the areas around the road project, and depend on these waters for drinking and farming.<\/p>\n In the settlement of Bom Gosto alone, 80 families live off agricultural production, according to a survey by the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT). After having his three-hectare plot expropriated for construction work by the government of Bahia, Jo\u00e3o Ferreira found shelter in the settlement.<\/p>\n They are killing the streams that supply us<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cA project can change, but a spring does not change place. They have to change the route of this road,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Requesting anonymity because she fears reprisals, a woman born in the region says that the road was opened in the most important stretch of the springs.<\/p>\n \u201cThey ran over the best water in the region,\u201d says the woman, a farmer who had her field cut in half by the access road to the port. Before that, she says, she drew clear water from a well in her own backyard. At the site, we found muddy water and a foul smell, the result of the decomposition of the vegetation cut down around the spring. <\/div> \u201cThey are killing the streams that supply us,\u201d observes Elielson Teles Santos, president of the Nova Jerusal\u00e9m agricultural association, which brings together those resettled in Bom Gosto. He claims that Bamin has installed manholes under the road, to allow water to be channeled from the springs. But Teles Santos is unsatisfied: \u201cThat\u2019s no use because they are cutting down the forest. No spring can survive without vegetation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWithout water, thousands of people here in Itariri will have their livelihoods jeopardised. And there\u2019s more: there will be no food at the market, [so] it\u2019s bad for the whole town,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n In a response by email, Bamin stated that it is acting \u201cin compliance\u201d with the licenses issued by public agencies. It added that the water sources were mapped and that, when necessary, it has modified the road layout. The company also states that the dirt in the springs after the deforestation is superficial and temporary.<\/p>\n Although it is responsible for the management and supervision of the APA where the port is being built, the state environment institute, INEMA, responded by email that questions about the construction should be made to the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), the federal-level agency responsible for its licensing. <\/div> INEMA\u2019s response, however, is based on a false premise: the state agency was, in fact, responsible for authorising vegetation clearance for the construction of the access roads to the port, in the area where the affected springs are located.<\/p>\n On 15 January 2021, INEMA published<\/a> Administrative Rule 22.102, authorising the deforestation of the 17 hectares within the APA and granting the installation licence for the enterprise.<\/p>\n The agency\u2019s action is also made explicit in the socio-environmental commitment terms, signed<\/a> by Bamin and public agencies \u2013 among them INEMA \u2013 which aimed to prevent and mitigate damages from the construction work.<\/p>\n The construction of the port is already affecting those who live off the land, but it is equally impacting those who make their living on the water.<\/p>\n The Almada river is the main source of income for more than ten riverside communities, whose families live off fishing for shrimp and fish such as bass, and collecting blue land crab, or guaiamu<\/em>, as they are known here. Along the rivers\u2019 banks, but not too far from the coast, the community of Vila Juerana has great tourist appeal, not only for offering freshwater swimming, but also for its bars that serve up the \u201cfruits of the Almada\u201d.<\/p>\n But such livelihoods are facing threats from construction for the megaport. Once it has travelled along the railroad, iron ore will be stored at Porto Sul, in facilities that will occupy 1,500 hectares in the river basin area.<\/p>\n An expert in this estuary, artisanal fisherman Jos\u00e9 Mendes de Jesus, 70, says that there \u201cused to be a line of boats\u201d operating on the river, until the construction work on the port began in August 2020. \u201cAll you had to do was cast a line and the sea bass would come, all big ones. Today, if you catch one kilo, even that\u2019s a lot,\u201d he adds. <\/div> Mendes de Jesus accompanied our reporter by canoe down the river, paddling for 20 minutes from Juerana to a bridge inaugurated<\/a> in September in the presence of the governor of Bahia, Rui Costa. It was the first structure connected to the port to be officially completed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw explosions in the water, pile-driving at the bottom of the river. There is no fishing ground that could stand it,\u201d recalls Mendes de Jesus. \u201cThere were lots of fish where that bridge is. There used to be lots of fish. Now there\u2019s nothing left. It makes me want to cry.\u201d<\/p>\n Besides pointing out the losses already felt by those who live off fishing, teacher M\u00f4nica Santos, who is on the board of directors of the Vila Juerana residents\u2019 association, fears future problems for the community: \u201cWhat will happen when this ore comes into contact with the water? And what about people\u2019s breathing, with this iron dust?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTourists come here to dive and eat what comes out of the river,\u201d Santos points out. \u201cWho will want to bathe in ore and eat fish with ore?\u201d\u00a0 <\/div> What she fears will happen in Vila Juerana is already a reality in the municipality of Lic\u00ednio de Almeida, 500 kilometres away. Trucks carry the production of the Caetit\u00e9 mine, already operating under Bamin, through the municipality. Its residents have been living with clouds of iron ore dust<\/a> that invade their homes, contaminate their food and harm their breathing.<\/p>\n The fishers of Vila Juerana are, like many Brazilian fishers, organised into a fishing \u201ccolony\u201d, with theirs known as Colony Z-34, and based in Ilh\u00e9us. The president of Z-34, Reinaldo dos Santos, known as Z\u00e9 Neguinho, is also apprehensive about Porto Sul \u2013 especially the maritime portion of the complex, where the large cargo ships will dock, which will be located in the main fishing area of the region, the Duro de Aritagu\u00e1 that serves Ilh\u00e9us and four other cities.<\/p>\n Science explains the area\u2019s ability to supply these cities amply: at the mouth of the Almada River there is a geological fault<\/a>, the Almada Canyon, which functions as an enormous underwater deposit of organic material, and therefore shelters micro-organisms, as well as small shrimps \u2013 called sarica<\/em> by local fishers \u2013 and even larger fish of commercial interest.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody is against development,\u201d Z\u00e9 Neguinho says, \u201cbut how will fishermen survive if they are killing our fishing grounds?\u201d<\/p>\n Imagine the sadness of seeing this ore destroy everything<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Z-34 alone has 2,700 associates, a contingent that is already larger than the 1,500 direct jobs that Bamin expects to generate at the beginning of the port terminal\u2019s operation, according to the company.<\/p>\n In the other colony in Ilh\u00e9us, the Z-19, there are more 870 fishers. There are also five fishers and shellfish gatherers\u2019 associations that operate independently from the colonies, adding up to well over 2,000 fishing professionals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all connected. The Lagoa Encantada supplies the Almada River. The Almada River flows into the sea, into the Duro de Aritagu\u00e1. Imagine the sadness of seeing this ore destroying everything,\u201d adds Z\u00e9 Neguinho.<\/p>\n The Lagoa Encantada<\/a> is a lagoon of about 20 square kilometres, surrounded by waterfalls and canals that also function as marine nurseries. It welcomes tourists all year round. <\/div> In response to Di\u00e1logo Chino\u2019s queries, Bamin said that the construction of the bridge over the Almada River preserved surrounding riparian forests, and that the company\u2019s monitoring of the river indicates that there are no impacts on fishing.<\/p>\n The company also stated that it maintains a permanent dialogue with fishers and that a fishing activity compensation programme is already underway. The company did not, however, inform us what this programme consists of.<\/p>\n The fishers say that communication with the company is difficult. Together, the colonies and associations have drawn up a list of compensatory demands, which includes fleet renewal, purchase of equipment for the boats and their headquarters, and qualification courses for artisanal fishers, such as in ocean fishing.\u00a0 <\/div> Instead, according to the fishers, Bamin offered about 12,800 reais (US$2,228) per colony and 7,000 reais (US$1,218) per association. The figures were confirmed to Di\u00e1logo Chino by four fishers involved in the negotiations. Bamin did not respond to questions surrounding this.<\/p>\n In the Z-34 colony, if the amount offered was divided equally among the members, each one would receive 4.74 reais (US$0.83) as compensation for the impact of the Porto Sul on their professional activity.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2017, a consortium made up of the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Railway Group Limited (CREC) signed<\/a> a memorandum of understanding with the state government and ERG to engage in the project linking the port, railway and mining operation. The Chinese companies, however, have decided not to take the deal any further.<\/p>\n Di\u00e1logo Chino contacted executives from the two Chinese companies to comment on the reasons behind the withdrawal from the deal, but received no response.<\/p>\n The work thus remains exclusively under Bamin, which faces criticism for the port\u2019s impacts on the coast, and the mine\u2019s operations in the sert\u00e3o<\/em> backcountry of Caetit\u00e9. Residents in the area have reported<\/a> houses damaged by explosions, environmental damage, and contractors\u2019 failure to comply with agreements with the community.<\/span><\/p>\n The sole bidder<\/strong><\/p>\n This area is also the starting point of the first section of the Fiol railroad, which will extend 537 kilometres to the port. In April, Bamin was the only company<\/a> interested in the concession of this stretch, at an auction held by the federal government. With the minimum bid of 32.7 million reais (US$5.7 million), it bought the railroad for 35 years.<\/p>\n According to the original project plans, Fiol will run for a total of 1,527 kilometres between Ilh\u00e9us and Figueir\u00f3polis, in the state of Tocantins.<\/p>\n There is still no forecast<\/a> for the concession auction for the second section of railway, which will stretch between Caetit\u00e9 and Barreiras, in western Bahia, but regional agribusiness is following the issue closely. During a live event<\/a> held in May this year, the president of the Association of Farmers and Irrigators of Bahia (AIBA), Odacil Ranzi, said that the entity is pleading for an adjustment to the railway project, so that the storage facilities planned for western Bahia are located closer to soybean, corn and cotton farms.<\/p>\n AIBA was contacted, but did not reply. The Bahia state government, IBAMA and the Ilh\u00e9us city council were also all contacted for questioning, but did not reply.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Porto Sul complex will increase iron ore exports, though it has brought controversy. Meanwhile, Chinese companies step away from a deal to help construct it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3882,"featured_media":50049761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[763,50039901],"tags":[545,556,587,591,20000341],"hashtags":[],"country":[50000021],"class_list":["post-50049794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-ocean","tag-fisheries","tag-infrastructure","tag-rivers","tag-shipping","tag-water-pollution","country-brazil"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPaving over springs<\/h2>\n
\nThe annual capacity of ore and grains expected to be handled for export from Porto Sul, which is scheduled to open in 2026
\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n![\"tent](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Itariri_BomGostoNascente_Victor-Uchoa-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Deforested](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Itariri_BomGosto_Victor-Uchoa-10-scaled.jpg\")
Megaport will impact small-scale fishing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Juerana-Ponte_Victor-Uchoa-5-scaled.jpg\")
![\"M\u00f3nica](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Monica_Juerana-Ponte_Victor-Uchoa-2-scaled.jpg\")
Inadequate compensation<\/h2>\n
![\"Porto](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Lagoa-2_Victor-Uchoa-scaled.jpg\")
![\"Artisanal](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Jose\u0301-Mendes_Juerana-Ponte_Victor-Ucho\u0302a-1-1-scaled.jpg\")
Chinese firms leave megaproject<\/h2>\n
\nIn addition to Porto Sul, Bamin won the tender for a the first section of the West-East Integration Railroad (Fiol), with the minimum bid of 32.7 million reais (US$5.7 million). The company will own the line for 35 years.
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