The federal government's plan to implement the Araguaia-Tocantins Waterway, through rock collapse (rock explosion) in a 35-kilometer stretch of the Tocantins River, in southeastern Pará, became the center of a legal, scientific and infrastructure dispute in the Amazon.
The stretch is known as Pedral do Lourenção and is between Vila Santa Terezinha do Tauiry, in the city of Itupiranga, and the island of Bogéa, in Nova Ipixuna. The region is inhabited by 23 riverside communities.
Budgeted at almost R$1 billion, the rock demolition work is part of the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and is responsible for the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT). The project received an Installation License from Ibama in May 2025, with the use of explosives expected from 2027 in the region more than 400 km away from Belém.
The Araguaia-Tocantins Waterway will be 1,731 km long, connecting the city of Peixe (TO) to the port of Barcarena, in Greater Belém. It was divided into three sections, the first and third with dredging interventions; and the second, the works to collapse the stone. Sections 1 and 3 do not yet have a cost estimate, according to Dnit.
The total project is expected to be part of the so-called Arco Norte, a set of waterways, railways and roads, which moved 58.6 million tons of products in 2025 in the Amazon. Therefore, the production sector and the federal government defend the waterway to improve the flow of commodities, especially maintaining the flow of soybeans and cattle in periods of drought.
However, scientists from the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) point out technical gaps in environmental impact studies and warn of ecological and hydrological risks ranging from severe flooding in urban centers to the burial of fish species common in the region.
At the other end, the 23 riverside communities that live on the banks of the rock are mobilizing to protect the area, stating that the destruction of the rocks will make artisanal fishing, which is the basis of the traditional local economy, unviable.
To try to protect the region, communities and scientists articulate in Iphan the listing of 54 km of the river, which includes the entire stretch planned for collapse. Among the main arguments for recognition are:
Fishing and sustenance: the rocks are fish nurseries, which are concentrated in the structures and are the place where fishermen find fish production.
Way of life and territory: the rocks serve as shelter for fish, are a breeding ground for species and can even help fishermen in shipwreck situations, who seek the rocks as refuge.
Archaeological sites: objects of study were found by scientists in the region, already impacted by the construction of a hydroelectric plant in the 1970s.
Iphan said that it "will carry out the necessary analyzes regarding the relevance of continuing the process" and that "the request (for recognition as heritage) is in the reception and preliminary evaluation phase".
The body also said that "it is not possible to advance any position on any type of listing".
The Dnit explains that "the project was designed based on technical and environmental studies, which considered the natural seasonality of the Tocantins River and the limitations that exist during periods of low water."
He also said that "in the Pedral do Lourenço region, specific points were identified that constitute physical obstacles to navigation" and that "the collapse seeks to reduce the physical restriction existing in the channel (...), contributing to conditions (...) for the circulation of vessels, especially in periods of lower water".
The impasse, which has been going on for years, puts the logistical flow model of agricultural commodities on trial in the face of the ecological and sociocultural preservation of populations in the region.
Why are stones important to residents?
For local communities, rocks in the riverbed are not a problem. They help guarantee fishing and the livelihood of families. In Vila Santa Terezinha do Tauiry, in Itupiranga, 130 families make a living from artisanal fishing.
Fisherman Ernandes Silva explains that the rocks block the river's strong current and create "backwaters" of still water, where fish congregate and nets are cast - making fishing easier.
"I came here to fish without any knowledge, then I left and they told me that it was the backwaters of rocks. Then, I used a backwater until I reached the exact point where I could explore a rock and find a backwater, a fishing spot sufficient for me", he says.
Ernandes reports that the activity follows an organized division of space and time. "Each fisherman goes out in the morning to that row of canoes, we already know which rock they are going to look for, because each one already has their own that they are used to fishing for." During the year, fishing dynamics change over the months.
From July to October, it is the dry season, when the waters recede, exposing the rocks. Fishermen use historic and named fishing grounds, collectively respected by the community.
From March to July, the rock is submerged during the flood season and fishing is done by "hunting", with floating nets up to five meters deep.
From November to March, it is the closed season, when species reproduce and fishing is prohibited; the same period in which fishermen receive government aid, such as Defeso Insurance.
The stones also represent physical refuge in the river. "When a canoe sinks, the first thing we think about is finding a rock. So, it's support so we can survive", points out Ernandes.
Preliminary impacts and exotic invasion
River dwellers report that the traffic of large commercial cargo barges, which began around three years ago, scares away aquatic fauna through noise, causing fish to pass under the net.
Furthermore, navigation introduced the golden mussel, an exotic invasive species that covers the rocks, emits a strong odor in the summer and hurts residents and tourists, according to riverside residents. Reports indicate that these species appeared with the flow of large vessels.
The possibility of having to leave the Pedral region also brings to light the trauma of a removal that took place more than 40 years ago. Many of the families were forced to leave their homes and lands during the construction of the Tucuruí Hydroelectric Plant in the 1970s and 1980s.
Resident Dona Gracinha, born in 1950 in Tauiry, one of the oldest residents of the village and owner of a famous bar in the village, expresses the fear of a new expulsion. "If it ends with Lourenção, life will be very difficult for us here. The fish are gone, our lives are over", he says.
What are the risks of the work?
Scientists and the MPF point out that the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) "omitted critical risks for the river's dynamics and biodiversity".
Alberto Akama, researcher and ichthyologist (specialist in fish studies), from the Goeldi Museum, disputes the effectiveness of the "bubble curtain", an air barrier proposed by Dnit to contain the noise from explosions. According to him, the method does not work for rapid species that inhabit the rocks.
"Species of fish from this region live in the rocks. If the work creates a bubble curtain, these fish will burrow even deeper into the rock. And when you explode, it doesn't matter if there will be a bubble curtain or not, because these species will die."
Akama recommended monitoring with telemetry studies, a type of "GPS" attached to fish, over a period of two years to map migratory routes before issuing the Installation License, but the recommendation was disregarded.
The scientist also warns of physical and ecological risks. One of them is the so-called "put out" in the deep channel, that is, where the exploded stones will be deposited. According to him, the disposal of tons of imploded rocks in the river channel will destroy the habitat of species that live below 30 meters deep.
"These fish that are on the bottom are in the channel and the channel is unique. So if you destroy the channel, you destroy their home."
He also draws attention to the danger of flooding in the Marabá region. The deposit of rocks in the deep bed will reduce the river channel, according to his prediction. "It's the opposite of what is done in São Paulo to avoid floods, where the gutter sinks. If you throw rocks from the shallows into the bottom, you reduce the depth section. This can, in years of exceptional floods, flood the city of Marabá", he explains.
Another issue highlighted by the scientist is the extreme drought on the banks. According to Akama, the opening of the narrow artificial canal can suck water from adjacent banks during drought, drying out fish and chelonian nurseries.
Another threat highlighted by scientists is in relation to porpoises and turtles. Prosecutor Rafael Martins, from the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), highlights that Ibama itself recognizes the risk of death of threatened species, such as the Araguaia dolphin, and of the burial of mating and nesting areas for tracajás and turtles.
The Dnit, in a note, states that "the environmental licensing studies for the collapse included areas of direct and indirect influence associated with the identified environmental impacts, in accordance with the technical and environmental criteria applicable to the licensing process."
He also clarified that "the execution of the demolition does not presuppose the interruption of fishing activity in the stretch."
"During drilling and rock dismantling operations, temporary security perimeters will be established around the work fronts, with access restricted only to the areas and periods necessary to carry out the activities safely (...), and fishing may continue to be carried out, subject to safety conditions and other applicable rules", he said.
The Dnit also pointed out that "the project provides for the execution of the Fishing Activity Monitoring Program (PMAP) and the Social Indemnity and Compensation Program (PICS), programs to monitor possible changes in fishing activity and adopt (...) appropriate compensation measures, including financial compensation to fishermen".
Why is the project being challenged in court?
The MPF and civil society organizations that accompany the project accuse DNIT and Ibama of illegally "slicing" environmental licensing. The strategy, according to environmentalists and the MP, consists of obtaining licenses for isolated sections (such as the 35 km of landslide), "camouflaging" damage that would be combined across the entire 1,731 km waterway.
Brent Millikan, member of GT Infra, points out the overrun of global assessments. "The environmental licensing began with the environmental impact study of 300 km. In reality, the largest waterway project is 1,731 km. In other words, this whole issue of broader impacts was not studied effectively and alternatives were not considered."
Millikan points out that competing projects, such as the extension of the North-South Railway from the city of Açailândia, in Maranhã, to Barcarena, "have never been evaluated in comparative socioeconomic and environmental cost-benefit studies".
Another pillar of judicialization is the violation of Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), according to the MPF. The prosecutor's office denounces that the Installation License, granted by Ibama in May 2025, was given without prior, free, informed and good faith consultation of the affected populations.
"When we talk about free, prior and informed consultation, the assumption is that the consultation takes place before the decision to carry out the project. From the moment you start to release the licenses, this decision has already been made", says attorney Rafael Martins.
In September 2025, federal judge André Luís Cavalcanti, from the 9th Court of Belém, traveled with other magistrates to inspect the Pedral region.
The court formally found the lack of adequate prior consultation with the communities and the insufficiency of the financial compensation proposed by DNIT, which disregarded the real value of the local fishing economy proven by studies by the Federal University of South and Southeast of Pará (Unifesspa).
Furthermore, according to community leaders, interviewed by g1, the survey for possible compensation for the work considered only 11 of the 23 communities living in the region as affected.
The MPF is now appealing to the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) to completely suspend the work.
Why does the government want to remove the stones?
The collapse of Pedral do Lourenção is considered by the production sector to be a crucial project to make the Araguaia-Tocantins Waterway viable. The project plans to integrate the so-called "Arco Norte" to transport soy and cattle from agribusiness.
The president of the Federation of Industries of Pará (FIEPA), Alex Carvalho, argues that the project overcomes regional vulnerabilities. "Arco Norte is a great solution for the country in addressing two very important issues for our future. Firstly, seeking integration of the Amazon with the rest of Brazil, which unfortunately never happened", he states.
For Carvalho, generating business makes forest conservation possible. "The Amazon cannot be dependent on Brazil. There is only one way through expanding the capacity to generate business, jobs, income, so that we can have a preserved Amazon."
He also proposes that the local population participate directly in the economic results of the business. "Create waterway concession models that speak directly to the territory, so that we have the local community effectively participating in the business."
The financial cost of the project, however, divides opinions. The initial budget estimated at R$300 million jumped to more than R$1 billion, according to Dnit itself, just for the rock-cutting section, without the government presenting estimates for the ongoing dredging of the waterway.
Why can the stone become a heritage site?
In reaction to the progress of the works, traditional communities and scientists articulated an
