The Cotingo River ( pt, Rio Cotingo) is a river of
Roraima state in northern
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, a tributary of the
Surumu River.
It flows through the
Raposa Serra do Sol
Terra indígena Raposa/Serra do Sol (Portuguese for ''Fox/Sun Hills Indigenous Land'') is an indigenous territory in Brazil, intended to be home to the Macuxi people. It is located in the northern half of the Brazilian state of Roraima and is th ...
indigenous territory. For many years there has been discussion over building a major hydroelectric power project on the river.
River basin
The Cotingo River has its headwaters at the foot of
Mount Roraima in the
Guayana Highlands
Guyana is a country in the Guianas, South America.
Guyana, Guiana, or Guayana may refer to:
* French Guiana, an overseas department of France in the Guianas
* The Guianas, a region in the north of South America
* Guayana Region, an administrativ ...
region.
The upper part of the Cotingo River basin is contained in the
Monte Roraima National Park
Mount Roraima National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional do Monte Roraima) is a national park in the state of Roraima, northern Brazil.
It includes the Brazilian section of Mount Roraima, and other mountains along the borders with Venezuela and Guyan ...
, a protected area created in 1989 that is fully contained in the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous territory.
The river runs for about to its
confluence with the
Surumu River, of which is the main tributary.
It contains continuous stretches of rapids and waterfalls. The
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
region of the river basin has an equatorial climate with tropical monsoon rainfall.
Conservation
It is home to the
Sun parakeet
The sun parakeet (''Aratinga solstitialis''), also known in aviculture as the sun conure, is a medium-sized, vibrantly colored parrot native to northeastern South America. The adult male and female are similar in appearance, with black beaks, pre ...
(Aratinga solstitialis),
Rio Branco antbird (Cercomacra carbonaria),
Finsch's euphonia (Euphonia finschi),
Bearded tachuri (Polystictus pectoralis) and
Hoary-throated spinetail (Synallaxis kollari).
The river basin has high potential for mining, agriculture, ranching, and
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...
, and as a result there is tension between the strong Indian population and the ranchers and settlers.
Hydroelectric project
Plans have been made for a hydro-electric project on the river. The first studies of the hydroelectric project were made in the 1970s. The proposed hydroelectric project would involve building five dams along the length of the river.
In 2006 the federal senate approved a legislative decree aimed to authorise the work, which would be undertaken in an indigenous area and would affect the Ingarikó, Makuxi, Patamona, Taurepang and Wapixana people.
Nothing had been done by 2011 and the priority in Roraima state had turned to construction of the Bem Querer dam on the
Branco River.
The planned dam would have potential capacity of 136 MW and would flood an area of . It would cost US$140 million. The first community to be flooded would be Tamanduá in the Serra region.
Wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...
and
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...
would be sufficient to meet the Raposa Serra do Sol's energy needs, but the project would be able to deliver power to the whole state.
The indigenous people were concerned about the environmental impact and also the influx of non-indigenous people that would be expected.
See also
*
List of rivers of Roraima
List of rivers in Roraima (Brazilian State).
The list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name and ordered from downstream to upstream. Roraima is located entirely within the Amazon Bas ...
References
Sources
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{{refend
Brazilian Ministry of Transport
Rivers of Roraima
Guayana Highlands