Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

TROPICAL HYDROPOWER

When more trees mean more power

Large hydropower infrastructure is being built along environmentally sensitive tropical rivers. An analysis in Amazonia shows that climate change and forest cover must be considered when planning hydropower infrastructure.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Drowned rainforest in Amazonia.

COLLART Hervé / Contributor / Sygma / Getty

References

  1. International Energy Outlook 2016 (US Energy Information Administration, 2016).

  2. Moran, E. F., Lopez, M. C., Moore, N., Müller, N. & Hyndman, D. W. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, 11891–11898 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. World Commission on Dams Dams and Development. A New Framework for Decision-making. The Report of the World Commission on Dams (Earthscan Publications Ltd, 2000).

  4. Arias, M. E. et al. Nat. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0492-y (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Coe, M. T., Latrubesse, E. M., Ferreira, M. E. & Amsler, M. L. Biogeochemistry 105, 119–131 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Panday, P. K., Coe, M. T., Macedo, M. N., Lefebvre, P. & de Almeida Castanho, A. D. J. Hydrol. 523, 822–829 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Fu, R. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 18110–18115 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Leite-Filho, A. T., Costa, M. H. & Fu, R. Int. J. Climatol. 40, 2328–2341 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Schmitt, R. J. P., Kittner, N., Kondolf, G. M. & Kammen, D. M. Nature 569, 330–332 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcos Heil Costa.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Costa, M.H. When more trees mean more power. Nat Sustain 3, 410–411 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0511-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0511-z

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing