Canada is the second highest producer of hydroelectric energy in the world. Nearly 50 of the hydroelectric reservoirs in the country have a capacity larger than 1 billion m3. Despite the great number and extent of hydropower developments in Canada and around the world, relatively little is known about how dams and their operations influence terrestrial and semi-aquatic wildlife. Reservoirs at northern latitudes are characterized by large fluctuations in water level, which create modified shorelines called drawdown zones. To evaluate the impact of these disturbances on amphibians and reptiles, I conducted visual encounter surveys at two sites in the drawdown zone of Kinbasket Reservoir, near Valemount, B.C. From April to August of 2010 and 2011, I documented the habitat use, reproductive phenology, and body condition of two amphibian species (Anaxyrus boreas and Rana luteiventris) as well as the growth, movements, diet, and distribution of one species of garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). At two sites in the drawdown zone, A. boreas and R. luteiventris were present for the duration of the summer and utilized several ponds for reproduction. The presence and abundance of Rana luteiventris eggs were generally associated with ponds that had higher mean temperatures, higher mean pH, and the presence of fish. In 2010, there was sufficient time for amphibian breeding and metamorphosis to occur before the reservoir inundated the drawdown zone, but low precipitation levels in that year led to desiccation of many breeding ponds. In 2011, high rainfall and snowmelt led to early inundation of breeding ponds, and thousands of tadpoles were presumably swept into the reservoir. Gravid Thamnophis sirtalis were found at just one of two sites in the drawdown zone, but both sites were frequented by foraging individuals of this species. Anaxyrus boreas appears to be the primary prey of T. sirtalis in the drawdown zone. An improved understanding of how the amphibians and reptiles at Kinbasket Reservoir have persisted in this highly disturbed environment may be vital to their conservation — the activation of a new generating unit at Mica Dam in 2014 will alter the pattern and timing of reservoir inundation for the first time since it was constructed 40 years previously. / Graduate

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:33:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 552138 bytes, checksum: 6811863b46d6affcaad8177f272ed79a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-29 / Within a broader context of relations between mass media and social movements, this dissertation analyzes media representation of people affected by the Candonga hydroelectric dam and the Movement of Dam-Affected People (MAB) during the process of dam construction in the Alto Rio Doce region of Minas Gerais State. The study analyzed the news and reports of two newspapers of statewide circulation, Estado de Minas and Hoje em Dia, as well as a weekly newspaper of a municipality located near the dam, Folha de Ponte Nova. The study revealed that media discourse used linguistic discursive resources to frame the actions and proposals of the movement in accord with specific socio- historical moments, contexts and circumstances. These representations either excluded or provided visibility to the movement. However this visibility frequently took the form of criminalizing the movement´s actions, without presenting its proposals. / Baseada em um contexto mais amplo das relações entre a imprensa e os movimentos sociais, esta dissertação analisa como a imprensa representou os atingidos pela Hidrelétrica Candonga e o Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) durante todo o processo de construção da hidrelétrica no Alto Rio Doce, em Minas Gerais. Esta pesquisa analisa as notícias e reportagens dos jornais estaduais Estado de Minas e Hoje em Dia, e um jornal semanal do município próximo à hidrelétrica, a Folha de Ponte Nova. O estudo revela que o discurso da mídia utiliza recursos lingüístico-discursivos que enfocam as ações do movimento de acordo com momentos sócio-históricos específicos, contextos e circunstâncias. Essas representações excluem, ou relatam as ações, dando visibilidade ao movimento; no entanto, frequentemente, o enfoque criminaliza e as propostas do MAB são ofuscadas.

In this study a comparative approach between both the Sámi of northern Sweden and the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota in relation to the constructions of the Letsi Reservoir and Garrison Dams will be given. The comparison will help create an understanding of what kinds of impacts they had to a number of factors. These factors include financial, environmental and cultural impact to the aforementioned groups, with the Imperial mindsets of the State in question.

A global proliferation of large dam construction since the 1950s has been accompanied by scientific research challenging the benefit of these projects while drawing attention to their numerous negative environmental and social impacts. The institutions that assess the costs and benefits associated with large dam proposals, creating policies either approving, altering, or disapproving them, collectively form what is known as a policymaking framework. Examining these frameworks allows observers to trace policies through outlined decision-making processes and can help to reveal inherent biases within those systems that may impact policy outcomes. Often, divergent policy outcomes, like the those observed in the cases of the Belo Monte dam in Brazil and HidroAysén dam in Chile, are a result of variations in the environmental policymaking frameworks of the deviating cases. The subjects of this study present similar arrangements of costs and benefits but resulted incongruous policy outcomes, specifically that the HidroAysén dam was not built while the Belo Monte dam is currently under construction. Existing bodies of literature outlining the environmental policymaking frameworks of Chile and Brazil fail to fully address the influence of external variables, including presidential influence, corruption, and electoral politics, on these cases. This project synthesizes an outline of the environmental policymaking frameworks of Chile and Brazil from existing literature and uses the divergent cases of the Belo Monte and HidroAysén dams to provide evidence for the incorporation of these external variables to better understand the incongruous policy outcomes these frameworks produce.

Hydropower development is a threat to many communities around the world, especially in developing countries, where the interests of private capital dominate often at the expense of exploiting the local people. This thesis presents a case study of anti-Nenskra dam activism in Chuberi and Nakra, two villages located in the Upper Svaneti region, Georgia. Through a lens of postsocialism, this analysis assesses the anti-dam activism within its systemic and historical context, arguing that the Nenskra dam is a product of Georgia’s post-Soviet neoliberalism and the Svan protests signify a rejection of this model of development.