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dams threaten one of the last untouched

The fate of one of the last wilderness of our planet seems sealed. On Monday, the Chilean government approved a draft power company Endesa to build five hydroelectric dams on two rivers of Chilean Patagonia, the Baker and Pascua, flooding 5,700 hectares of nature immaculate. It is the fact that Chile is the only country whose constitution provides for private ownership of water rights, and Endesa, which owns 90% of water in Chile, claiming their 'right' to exploit the wild rivers Patagonia. A "irreversible environmental disaster" , as defined by opposition to dams that would destroy the burgeoning ecotourism sector and the habitats of endangered species like the huemul (declared a natural monument of Chile "in 2006).

Baker River, one of the two rivers affected by dams. Photo of Daniel Beltran (iLCP)

Until now, the remote Aysen region had been hit by the destructive hand of man: his inaccessibility has managed to keep intact a wonderful territory traversed by immense glaciers , majestic fjords and green valleys.

Conservative government Sebastian Piñera justify the project, called HidroAysén, the growing demand for energy in Chile, the most buoyant economy in South America, and its high dependence on fossil fuels fossils. They believe that the dams, which generate 2,750 megawatts (almost a third of the current capacity of Chile), are essential for development. Above all, we need electricity to the northern mining country, and analysts estimate that demand will triple over the next fifteen years. However, opponents of the project argue that it is unfair that the south suffers the cost of Northern industry, and Chile has enormous potential to supply renewable energies like solar or wind, just getting established in the country (only 5% of electricity comes from alternative sources).

The Endesa project has generated a widespread rejection in Chilean society: according to the latest Ipsos poll , the 61'1% of the population opposes the construction of hydroelectric dams in Aysen , and indeed approval project on Monday was met with protests in several Chilean cities, including the capital, Santiago. The local population with the environmentalist leads the opposition movement, which focused on the coalition "Patagonia without dams" . The coalition-platform has a website with a lot of very good information, like your "9 reasons not to destroy the Chilean Patagonia ": Chilean Patagonia reserve life, an energy model wrong, destroying 2,300 km (on the power line, the longest in the world that would be built to carry the electricity to the north), Tourism Development in Chilean Patagonia ...

Environmentalists around the world have also joined from the beginning to protest against the destruction of Chilean Patagonia. For example, this week Juantxo López de Uralde blogged an article in which he said:

This project should never carried out. This is an unprecedented ecological aggression. So we add our voice to those who shout: Patagonia without dams.

And finally, I leave you with a gallery taken last year during an expedition of International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) , which sought to document and publicize the impact would build dams on undisturbed natural treasure that is the region of Aysen.