The turbines could be jammed by floating trees once the dam is fully operational. Meanwhile there are more immediate problems. Ranchers have moved into the area, attracted by the new transport network. Their first priority is to remove the forest. From the hilltop and driving to Repartimento we could see cleared pastures everywhere.
Cattle graze amongst burnt tree stumps.
Erosion rates increase over 100 times once the forest is gone. The irony is that under the development plans these watershed forests were supposed to be protected. From the hilltop we saw the effect that the huge reservoir is having on the local climate. Clouds coming towards us turned sharp right over the waters as the air currents changed. We saw the same thing happening the next day when we visited a fishing village ten miles downstream from the dam.