Amazon River Water Being Stolen and Bottled Abroad

February 9, 2010 by Bob Higgins · Leave a Comment

By Stephen Messenger, Porto Alegre, Brazil TreeHugger

A recently published report is exposing some shocking exploitation of the Amazon’s natural resources–and this times it’s water being stolen. Where is this water headed? According to the report, “tankers are quietly removing water” to be bottled and sold in Europe and the Middle East. This is coming at a time when regions of the northern Amazon region have been experiencing a devastating drought that threatens the livelihoods of its people. This burgeoning crime is known as hydro-piracy, and it could foreshadow a future of resource wars as clean water supplies become scarce.

Hydro-Piracy is Illegal, But Not Uncommon

This isn’t the first time the crime of hydro-piracy has come to the attention of Amazon watchdog groups. Tankers were known to be exporting oil to South America and refilling their tanks with fresh water from the Amazon to import back to Europe and the Middle East.

It is estimated that each tanker returns with approximately 5 million gallons of Amazon River water. For bottling companies, it is considerably less expensive to treat freshwater than to procure it through desalinization.

But, according to the report published in the law journal Consulex, such pillaging of resources is illegal under Brazilian law and must be addressed:

This illegal practice can not be neglected by the Brazilian authorities in order to be considered property of the lakes, rivers and any water currents on lands owned by the [Federal government].

New Methods Arise as the Old Ones Go Unaddressed
The report discloses a new method being implemented to illegally export the Amazon River which may be more efficient for hydro-piracy. Instead of their internal tanks, large bags are being filled with freshwater and towed back across the Atlantic.

Journalist Von Erick Farfan was one of the first to point out the ongoing exploitation of the Amazon’s water. He says that scientists and the Brazilian authorities were informed that oil tankers are replenishing their reservoirs in the Amazon River before leaving the national waters, according to EcoAgencia, but lacked the ‘formal’ complaint required to prompt any action.

Farfan points out that the hydro-piracy has direct links to multinational corporations.