Latin America; in English (pdf) - Transboundary Freshwater Dispute ...

Rainbow over the Amazon River, Iquitos region, Peru. Photo credit: Iva Naffziger.
areas surrounding the Itaipu Dam and catching
fauna from the dam area, and releasing them
into conservation areas (TED 1996b).
The Itaipu Dam case not only caused
friction on a local level, but on an international
one as well. In 1973, when Paraguay and Brazil
first signed the Treaty of Itaipu, consideration
was not given, as was required under the 1969
La Plata Basin Treaty, to how the dam would
affect the lower riparians. Argentina, at the time,
was planning the Corpus Christi Dam 250 km
downstream from Itaipu, and the flow that was to
be affected by Itaipu would have influenced the
performance of the Corpus Dam. Being the lower
riparian, Argentina had always argued for
projects of mutual benefit for all basin-states in
order to maximize the utility of the La Plata Basin
waters. After negotiations, in 1979, the three
countries arrived at the Agreement on Paraná
River Projects, whereby the levels of the river
would be maintained and exchanges of information
would take place (Malecek 2001).
An opposite example is that of the Yacyretá
Dam, also found in the La Plata Basin. Problems
have plagued the project since construction
began in 1973 and continue to do so. The
impact on the local communities, in terms of
resettlement, and on the environment, in terms
of deforestation and destruction of habitat of
endangered species, caused conflicts that had
widespread effects on the development of the
dam project. As each phase of the dam was
completed, more and more contention grew as
larger areas of land were flooded and people
were forced to move (TED 1996a). If an institution
is not in place or does not have the capacity to
manage the situation, as in the Yacyretá case,
conflicts like these can determine the outcome;
whereas such a situation may have been avoided
by joint planning for mutual benefit.
3.2.1.6 Climate variability
A nutria swimming in the La Plata. Photo credit: Rolando León.
The “wet summers” and “dry winters” that occur
on the majority of the continent play a large role
in how governments manage the international
56 — Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Latin America and the Caribbean