A/HRC/12/34/Add.2 page 17 led to suspension of the project because of indigenous opposition. In any case, there appears to be an absence of a well-defined procedure for consultations that conforms to the relevant international standards and that indigenous peoples consider will consistently provide them adequate opportunity to be heard. 57. Major infrastructure projects affecting, in the aggregate, thousands of indigenous peoples include the construction of dams on the Xingu, Tocantins, Madeira, Estreito, Tibagu, Juluena, Cotingo and Kuluene rivers, and the transposition of the São Francisco river. The Tucuruí Dam on the Toncantins River has caused the displacement of numerous indigenous families. The construction of the Belo Monte hydroeclectric dam on the Xingu river is one of series of dams that were planned as part of the Complexo Hidrelétrico Xingu project, affecting at least 10 indigenous groups by the environmental changes caused by the dam. Faced with criticism about the impacts of the project on the environment and indigenous peoples, the Government reports that it has pledged not to pursue the project beyond the Belo Monte dam. Even so, indigenous groups and NGOs complain that the Belo Monte project is being carried out without adequate mitigation measures and consultations with the affected indigenous communities. 58. Indigenous peoples are also being affected by international initiatives for economic development, such as the South American Integrated Regional Infrastructure (IIRSA) project. With total investment estimated at $37 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank and various subregional banks, including the Brazilian Development Bank and the Andean Promotional Corporation, an underlying project objective is to increase access to South America’s natural resources and put them at the disposal of foreign markets. For example, the Madeira River Complex, in the tri-border region of Peru, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and Brazil, is one of the anchors of the project and would transform the Madre de Dios-Beni-Mamoré-Itenez-Madeira river system into a major corridor for energy production and raw material export. The proposal includes the construction of four hydroelectric dams, most importantly the Santo Antônio and Jirau dams in Rondônia that will affect numerous indigenous groups. Adequate consultations with indigenous peoples should be ensured for all these development initiatives. IV. INDIGENOUS DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS A. Policy issues 59. Whereas large-scale development projects and other factors often have adversely affected indigenous peoples and their lands, indigenous peoples more generally face significant challenges to their own development in economic, social and related spheres. As mentioned, census data collected by IBGE maintain that Brazilian indigenous peoples are the most impoverished sector of the country’s population. For a number of reasons related to historical patterns of discrimination and loss of control over lands and resources, both rural and urban indigenous communities face obstacles to development and are challenged to support themselves in ways appropriate to their cultures and world views.