* Chief Raoni says dam threatens indigenous people's land * Brazil wants project to meet surging electricity demand * Sting speaks before Sao Paulo concert * By Elzio Barreto SAO PAULO, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's government should hear native Indians before deciding on the construction of a controversial $17.3 billion hydroelectric dam in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, rock star and environmental activist Sting said on Sunday. Sting, who founded the Rainforest Foundation in 1989 after meeting a group of Brazilian Indians in the Amazon, called for more dialogue on the Belo Monte dam, an 11,000-megawatt project on the Xingu River in country's north. He was due to perform at a pro-environment concert in Sao Paulo later on Sunday. The Belo Monte project has drawn harsh criticism because of its high cost and potential for environmental damage to the Amazon basin, even as the government gave it top priority to meet an expected surge in energy demand in the coming years. "I'm sure there are sound economic reasons why this dam makes sense, just as on the opposite side there are sound environmental reasons why it's not a good idea," Sting said at a joint news conference with Chief Raoni Txucarramae of the Kayapo people in northern Brazil. "I'm a foreigner but what's important to me is that the voice of all Brazilian people be heard," he added. "Raoni's people need to be part of the process because they are in the frontline." Environmental groups say the Belo Monte project, which also includes creating a waterway to transport agricultural commodities grown in the Amazon, would damage the sensitive ecosystem by flooding a large area. Speaking in his native language, Raoni said the dam could hurt fishing and hunting and would flood part of the Xingu Indigenous Park. Raoni became well-known around the world in the 1990s, traveling with Sting and meeting European heads of state and the Pope. "The government wants to build this large Belo Monte dam and this worries me," said Raoni, wearing a yellow feather headdress and round lip disk, through an interpreter. "This dam can reach my people, the land of my people," he added. "I am very concerned with the future of my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, that's why I fight to keep the land, the Xingu River the way it is now." Brazil's government delayed on Wednesday a bid to build the Belo Monte dam until January because of difficulties in acquiring an environmental license for the project. Brazil seeks to have licenses in place before starting the bid to reduce investors' perception of political risk. Government estimates put the cost for Belo Monte near 16 billion reais ($9 billion), while industry officials put the price tag closer to 30 billion reais ($17 billion). ($1=1.733 reais) ((elzio.barreto@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 5644-7725; Reuters Messaging: elzio.barreto.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Demonstrators of different religions take part in a march for peace and against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro November 22, 2009. Ahmadinejad will arrive in ...
