Poverty–Food Insecurity Nexus in the Post-Construction Context of a Large Hydropower Dam in the Brazilian Amazon

Igor Cavallini Johansen (), Miquéias Freitas Calvi, Verônica Gronau Luz, Ana Maria Segall-Corrêa, Caroline C. Arantes, Victoria Judith Isaac, Renata Utsunomiya, Vanessa Cristine e Souza Reis and Emilio F. Moran
Additional contact information
Igor Cavallini Johansen: Center for Environmental Studies and Research (NEPAM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-867, SP, Brazil
Miquéias Freitas Calvi: Faculty of Forestry, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Altamira 68372-040, PA, Brazil
Verônica Gronau Luz: Faculty of Health Sciences, Grande Dourados Federal University (UFGD), Dourados 79825-070, MS, Brazil
Ana Maria Segall-Corrêa: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brasília 70904-130, DF, Brazil
Caroline C. Arantes: Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6125, USA
Victoria Judith Isaac: Núcleo de Ecologia Aquática e Pesca, Federal University of Pará, Belém 66077-530, PA, Brazil
Renata Utsunomiya: Institute of Energy and Environment (IEE), University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 05508-010, SP, Brazil
Vanessa Cristine e Souza Reis: Center for Environmental Studies and Research (NEPAM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-867, SP, Brazil
Emilio F. Moran: Center for Environmental Studies and Research (NEPAM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-867, SP, Brazil

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: Within the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, large hydropower dams are positioned as a sustainable energy source, notwithstanding their adverse impacts on societies and ecosystems. This study contributed to ongoing discussions about the persistence of critical social issues, even after the investments of large amounts of resources in areas impacted by the construction of large hydropower dams. Our study focused on food insecurity and evaluated this issue in the city of Altamira in the Brazilian Amazon, which has been profoundly socially and economically impacted by the construction, between 2011 and 2015, of Brazil’s second-largest dam, namely, Belo Monte. A survey in Altamira city featured a 500-household random sample. Structural equation modeling showed conditioning factors of 60% of the population experiencing varying food insecurity degrees. Poverty, female-led households, lower education, youth, and unemployment were strongly linked to higher food insecurity. Crowded, officially impacted, and resettled households also faced heightened food insecurity. Our findings underscore the food insecurity conditions in the region impacted by the Belo Monte dam, emphasizing the need to take into account this crucial issue while planning and implementing hydropower dams.

Keywords: public health; sustainable development; hydropower dams; food insecurity; poverty and resettlement; Brazilian Amazon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/2/155/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/2/155/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:2:p:155-:d:1329611

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().