PhD defense “Voicing the Invisibles. Investigating Impacts of Resettlement on Riverine Women due to the Construction of Belo Monte Hydropower Dam”

On November 1, 2024, Satya Maia Patchineelam defended her PhD thesis at Erasmus University Rotterdam, entitled “Voicing the Invisibles. Investigating Impacts of Resettlement on Riverine Women due to the Construction of Belo Monte Hydropower Dam”. The Belo Monte Hydropower dam, constructed in the Xingu River, resettled many riverine families from their homes on the riverbanks to the outskirts of the city of Altamira, Brazil. The lack of transparency and participation reduced the chances of the riverine community to maintain their riverine culture and river-based livelihoods. The research aimed to understand the impact of resettlement on the livelihood of the riverine women and how it has affected their traditions. This research answered the central question: What are the various effects of resettlement and disconnection from the river on the riverine women? The study makes part of the River City Network, sister alliance of Riverhood and River Commons. The latter’s PI Prof. Rutgerd Boelens acted as a committee member. During the research, Satya has joined several Riverhood and River Commons meetings in Wageningen, Manizales, and a  methodology workshop on counter-mapping with CEDLA at the University of Amsterdam. The learnings were applied in the field study’s participatory action-research.