Abstract
With rising global awareness of the need for sound governance of water resources, the issue of dams has resurfaced with fresh vitality, now associated with the idea of clean, environmentally friendly energy. Long criticized for their irreversible impact on landscapes and communities, big dams now appear to be enjoying fresh consideration, at least when their effects on the planet are compared with nuclear power stations and other potentially more dangerous and polluting methods of energy production. The case of the Alqueva Dam in southeast Portugal lies in a particularly interesting theoretical interval: it simultaneously is an heir to the civilizing traditions of state development through access to water, a forerunner of the application of measures of public consultation and participation of the mid-1990s, and one of the most modern constructions for the storage and management of water in the early twenty-first century. However, some 8 years after its inauguration, the economic and social benefits of this extremely costly superstructure are far from convincing.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Électricité de France S.A., the French national electricity company.
- 2.
Personal communication, Tignes 2000.
- 3.
Barragem de Alqueva, Livro Negro.
- 4.
The region was a stronghold of the Communist Party.
- 5.
Prosseguir Alqueva para Desenvolver o Alentejo e o País.
- 6.
As defined by Sophie Allain (2001).
- 7.
in Publico, May 30, 2004, “O vale das ilusões.”
References
Allain S (2001) Planification participative de bassin et gouvernement de l’eau. Géocarrefour 76(3):199–209
Ayeb H (2001) L’Égypte et le barrage d’Assouan. Que serait l’Égypte sans ce très grand barrage? Hérodote 103:137–151
Barragem de Alqueva, Livro negro (1981) Ed. Amanhã, Lisboa
Bethemont J (2008) Les grands barrages, entre contestation et développement? In: Blanc N, Bonin S (eds) Grands barrages et habitants. Eds MSH & Quae, Paris/Versailles, pp 23–39
Blanc N, Bonin S (eds) (2008) Grands barrages et habitants. Les effets sociaux du développement. Eds Maison des sciences de l’homme & Quae, Paris/Versailles
Canal Sanchez-Pagin JM (1988) Riaño: cinco villas. Rafagas históricas. Ed Lancio, Léon
Carvalho I (1981) A população da Aldeia da Luz e a barragem de Alqueva. In: Barragem de Alqueva, livro negro. Ed Amanhã, Lisboa, pp 77–88
Cernea M (2008) Penser les risques sociaux du développement. In: Blanc N, Bonin S (eds) Grands barrages et habitants. Eds MSH & Quae, Paris/Versailles, pp 57–75
Clarimont S (1999) Les conflits pour l’eau en Europe méditerranéenne: le cas du bassin de l’Ebre (Espagne), unpublished doctoral thesis, Montpellier
Clavairolle F (2008) Habiter les lieux: le rôle de la mémoire. In: Blanc N, Bonin S (eds) Grands barrages et habitants. Eds MSH & Quae, Paris/Versailles, pp 125–140
Drain M (ed) (1996) Les conflits pour l’eau en Europe méditerranéenne. Espace Rural 36
Faure A (2008) Écouter les voix de la vallée: les riverains de la Dordogne. In: Blanc N, Bonin S (eds) Grands barrages et habitants. Eds MSH & Quae, Paris/Versailles, pp 101–124
Gonçalves ME (2001) O Caso de Foz Côa: um laboratório de análise sociopolítica. Edições 70, Lisboa
Guichard F (2003) Réflexions autour de deux conflits pour l’eau au Portugal : Alqueva et Côa. In: Drain M (ed) Politiques de l’eau en milieu méditerranéen. Le cas de la péninsule ibérique, vol 82. Casa de Velázquez, Madrid, pp 236–249
Lacoste Y (2001) Géopolitique de l’eau. Hérodote 102:3–18
McCully P (1996) Silenced rivers. The ecology and politics of large dams. Zed Books, London/New Jersey
Pessoa F (Bernardo Soares) (1989) O Livro do dessasosego. Editora Brasiliense, São Paulo
Prosseguir Alqueva para desenvolver o Alentejo e o País (1985) Ed. Caminho, Lisboa
Roy A (1999) Le coût de la vie. Gallimard, Paris
Silva A (1982) Alqueva, a grande barragem. Livros Horizonte, Lisboa
Varaschin D (2001) Tignes, la naissance d’un géant. Artois Presses universités, Arras
Wateau F (1999) Barrages, Identités et Frontières. Des barrages sur rivières frontalières (Sela et Alqueva)? In: Pujadas J, Martín E, Pais de Brito J (eds) Globalización, Fronteras culturales y políticas y Ciudadanía. Santiago de Compostela, pp 229–244
Wateau F (2002) Du Portugal à l’Europe. Effets d’échelle, de Melgaço à Alqueva. Lusotopie IX(2):165–176
Wateau F (2008) Reproduire un village à l’identique: Alqueva. In: Blanc N, Bonin S (eds) Grands barrages et habitants. Eds MSH & Quae, Paris/Versailles, pp 77–99
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wateau, F. (2014). Dam Projects and Protest: The Exception of Alqueva (Portugal). In: Schneier-Madanes, G. (eds) Globalized Water. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7323-3_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7323-3_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7322-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7323-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)