Sr. Luis Inacio Lula da Silva
President of the Republic
Praça dos Três Poderes
Palacio do Planalto, 3° andar
70.150-900 Brasilia, DF
Brasil

RE: Natural gas pipeline will devastate rainforests and indigenous peoples

Dear Mr. President,

I join millions of citizens in South America and around the world in my great concern regarding plans by Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina to build a massive natural gas pipeline through Brazil's Amazon rainforest. The pipeline would pierce the heart of the Amazon and ensure its destruction as a large, operable whole. It would devastate rainforests, water resources, the climate and indigenous populations across a huge swathe of South America.

Large areas of pristine rainforests would be destroyed during construction, and new roads would open the rest for colonization by ranchers and loggers. Historically rainforest for 50 kilometers on each side of new roads are cleared within years of construction. The multitude of waterways traversing the Amazon would be polluted during construction and by inevitable pipeline leaks

This proposed pipeline is economically questionable and is an example of the type of destructive neo-liberal economic development policy that your government has opposed in the past. Both Brazil and Argentina have gas fields large enough to cover their own domestic demands, and it is not clear that Venezuela has the capacity to maintain such a large steady supply of gas, nor that the gas could be offered at a competitive price given the huge investment required.

The similar existing Camisea gas pipeline through rainforests in Peru - which was touted as a model of sustainable development, environmental protection and respect for indigenous peoples - offers a cautionary tale of the damage caused by gas pipelines during construction and their operation. In three years of operation is has already experienced five major spills, severely damaging the environment and local communities.

Since this proposed pipeline is both economically and ecologically unsustainable, I urge your government to immediately cancel planning for its construction.

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