On March 18, the Mato Grosso State Environmental Department (SEMA-MT) shelved the environmental license software for the Castanheira hydropower plant. Companies and social movements have mobilized for more than 10 yrs to block the dam that would be developed on the Arinos River (Juruena River Basin). As documented by Mongabay in December, if the undertaking ended up to go forward, an area of around 95 square kilometers [37 square miles] would be flooded, directly affecting Indigenous communities, tiny farmers and urban and rural dwellers in the municipalities of Juara, Novo Horizonte do Norte and Porto dos Gaúchos, all in Mato Grosso condition. According to SEMA-MT, the software was turned down for not presenting alternatives “to pending issues, because complementary scientific studies, files and critical facts ended up asked for for analysis” and were being not furnished by the Electrical power Analysis Office (EPE), a federal governing administration organization linked to the Ministry of Mines and Strength, which is responsible for studies related to the country’s electricity organizing. The environmental agency’s specialized report was posted just one working day right after the Federal General public Defender’s Office and the Federal Prosecution Services filed a community civil action demanding the suspension and federalization of the licensing course of action. In accordance to a research by the NGO Operação Amazônia Nativa (OPAN), the challenge would be economically damaging to impacted towns and would threaten the physical and cultural preservation of Indigenous peoples. Additionally, the researchers pointed out a series of social and environmental inconsistencies in the licensing procedure. Liliane Xavier, a member of the Juruena Vivo Community, says…This post was initially published on Mongabay