“For rivers, against dams”. This expression of support for rivers, not dams, was spray painted on a wall in Caleta Tortel. Many of the towns in this region, including Caleta Tortel, would be adversely affected by the HidroAysén dam project. Photo source: ©© International Rivers
Excerpts;
Chile’s Supreme Court Wednesday removed the last legal obstacle to building a giant $2.9 billion hydroelectric complex in the Patagonian wilderness, rejecting a bid by environmentalists to block it.
The highly controversial project, which environmentalists say will wreck a unique and pristine habitat in the southern tip of South America, sparked violent protests last year.
The highest legal authority in Chile rejected seven appeals filed against Project HidroAysén, which plans to build five dams, flooding 6,000 hectares. The government had approved the project last year but the case was taken to the supreme court after objections were raised over the environmental impact study…
Read Full Article, AFP / in Terra Daily
Chilean court rejects opposition to Patagonia dam, Guardian UK
Site of first proposed dam on Pascua River, Patagonia.
Few people in the world have ever seen the pristine, and one of Chile’s most powerful, 62-kilometer Pascua River, which until as recently as 1898 was completely unknown to European settlers. The HidroAysén dam project propose to build five massive dams in Aysén (Region XI) that would together generate some 2,750 MW of electricity – roughly equivalent to 20 percent of Chile’s current overall generating capacity. Three of those dams are slated for the Pascua. The other two would be built along the Baker River, Chile’s most voluminous, which is located farther north.Captions: Benjamin White. Photo source: ©© Gary Hughes / International Rivers
