The Brazilian Government is building the world's third largest hydroelectric dam on one of the Amazon's major tributaries, the Xingu River. The Belo Monte Dam complex is designed to divert 80% of the Xingu River's flow, devastating an area of over 1,500 square kilometers of Brazilian rainforest while resulting in the forced displacement of between 20,000 - 40,000 people. The project is causing grave and direct impacts to the land and livelihood of thousands of riverine and urban families, as well as 1,000 indigenous people from several communities, while provoking profound indirect impacts throughout the Xingu basin's communities, rivers, and forests.
http://amazonwatch.org/work/belo-monte-dam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belo_Monte_Dam