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Pascua river
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last update: Aug 31, 2010
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printPatagonia Dams: HidroAysén - Chile location
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Gary Hughes, International Rivers, United States working partners
Tell President Piñera to pull the plug on Patagonia Dams!
The Pascua River.
sector
dams
description
HidroAysén - owned by European company Endesa and Chilean company Colbun - plans to dam two of Chile's most powerful and pristine rivers, the Baker and Pascua Rivers. Electricity from these dams would be sent more than 2,400 kilometers north to serve Chile's biggest cities and its mammoth copper industry. The transmission lines for the project would require one of the world's longest clearcuts--much of it through untouched temperate rainforests of a type found nowhere else on the planet outside Patagonia. The five dams (two on the Baker and three on the Pascua) would displace families, disrupt livelihoods and spoil tourism that brings local income. Transmission lines and reservoirs would destroy temperate rainforests unique to Patagonia. Victims of these dams would include critically endangered species such as the huemul deer, a Chilean national symbol. In response to the dam plans, Chilean and international NGOs have teamed up to wage the biggest environmental campaign in Chile's history: a campaign to keep Patagonia free of dams. current status (Jun 29, 2010)
In June 2010, HidroAysén has requested and been granted another suspension in the review of the project’s environmental impact analysis (EIA). The company has now officially requested to have until the end of October 2010 to finish preparing their responses to the more than one-thousand comments made on their last addendum to the EIA for the dams. In the beginning of 2010 BBVA announced that they are not considering financing the HidroAysen project due to its high social and environmental risks. The HidroAysén project remains in the process of environmental review. The company submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment in 2008. Chilean public agencies provided more than 3000 comments that the company was asked to address. In response, in October 2009 the company submitted an Addenda to their Environmental Impact Study. With just 15 days to review the 5000-page Addenda, 29 of the 32 public agencies again found it insufficient, with 14 of the agencies making highly critical comments. As a result, in January 2010 the Chilean regulatory authority provided another 1000 observations on the Addenda, and asked HidroAysén to respond. HidroAysén has asked for another 6-month extension to prepare their response. The environmental review of HidroAysén is suspended until the end of June 2010. brief history
In November of 2008, despite thousands of comments from the Chilean public voicing opposition to the proposal and the recommendation of many Chilean public service agencies for outright rejection of the clearly insufficient Environmental Impact Study due to technical deficiencies, the proposal was returned to the company for revision without actual denial of the proposal. HidroAysén has been given at least 9 months to respond to comments and to revise their proposal. The original EIA (environmental impact assessment) was considered particularly weak due to the lack of contemporary environmental impact methodology and modeling, the flat out evasion of key social and environmental impact topics, and the fragmentation of the project into smaller parts, most notably the separation of the EIA for the more than 2000 kilometers of transmission lines from the EIA of the 5 proposed dams. The evasion of a real assessment of total cumulative impacts of the project proposal reflects HidroAysén's disinterest in providing for a true evaluation of the impacts of the proposed mega-project, as well as raising important questions of good governance, transparency, and free and fair access to environmental information. HidroAysén continues to invest what observers estimate to be millions of dollars in a high-end public relations campaign designed to manage their image in Patagonia and in Chile as a whole in an effort to mitigate the tremendously negative and controversial image that the proposal has in Chile and internationally. The eruption of the Chaitén volcano in 2008, demonstrated the extreme volatility of the landscapes through which the transmission lines would have to be constructed. The entire town or Chaitén was destroyed, and is now slated for reconstruction in a new locale. The EIA of HidroAysén did nothing to take into account seismic or volcanic activity. As well, a series of dramatic climatic events on the Río Baker over the past year, including a number of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, have resulted in sudden changes in river volume and temperature that exceeded any modeling embarked upon by the company, demonstrating their complete lack of preparedness in understanding the environmental and climatic conditions of the extremely sensitive and wild region in which they propose to develop this project. companies involved
HidroAysén is owned by Endesa Chile (51%) and Colbún (49%). Colbún is 49% owned by the influential Matte family in Chile. Endesa Chile is majority owned by Enersis, which in turn is controlled by Endesa Spain, now a subsidiary of Enel (Italy 92%). Besides Enersis and Enel, the most important shareholders of Endesa Chile include 4 large Chilean pension funds, 3 of which are partially owned by European and US banks (BBVA Spain, ING Netherlands, Citigroup). dodgy aspects
social impact
The Baker dams will flood ranching and agricultural lands, displacing communities. The Baker river basin brings sustainable income to Patagonia's local communities through the rapidly growing tourism industry (much of it Chilean). This would be drastically reduced, as eco-tourists do not visit artificial lakes and power-line crossed vistas. Over half of Chile's residents oppose the project due to the environmental impacts. A coalition of at least 40 national and international groups is fighting the dams because of the significant threats to wildlife and local livelihoods. environment
The Baker River has the highest flow of all Chilean rivers. Its ecosystem supports a high degree of biodiversity, including documented populations of the endangered huemul deer. Chilean environmental authorities have characterized the river's entire basin as a biological corridor and have said that the Baker River's conservation should be prioritized. The two dams on the Baker River would create artificial lakes flooding more than 4,300 hectares (10,700 acres). Flooded lands would include some of the best agricultural and ranching lands of the region. The Pascua River has the third highest flow of all Chilean rivers, and is extremely remote. Especially in its upper reaches, the Pascua river ecosystem includes some of Chile's largest remaining populations of the endangered huemul deer. Chilean environmental authorities have recognized the Pascua for high aquatic biodiversity, have characterized most of the river's basin as a biological corridor and have said that this river's conservation should be prioritized. The three dams on the Pascua River would create artificial lakes flooding more than 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres). Flooded lands would include some of the world's rarest forest types, including the critically endangered guaiteca cipres. Other rare species that would be harmed by the Pascua dams include the huillin river otter and the torrent duck. The construction activities would bring over 5000 workers into a sparsely populated and ecologically sensitive area, increasing pressure on existing resources and threatening the way of life of the traditional populations of Aysen. New roads would be built and existing ones expanded, opening access to fragile-and previously undisturbed-ecosystems. The 2450-km transmission line for the project would cut through half of Chile. Thousands of acres of old growth forest would be felled, and the line would cut a 120-meter wide corridor through people's homes and land and numerous protected areas. The risks of the transmission line failing due to an earthquake, volcanic eruption or other natural disaster are high. It could take months to repair the line, particularly if a volcanic eruption necessitates a change in route. Given that around a fifth of Chile's central grid would depend on power from HidroAysen, this could lead to blackouts and power shortages on a grand scale, threatening the stability of the entire grid. gender aspects
The World Commission on Dams found that women and ethnic minorities were disproportionately affected by dam projects. As women are often responsible for ensuring the sustainable livelihoods of their families, impacts on these livelihoods through destruction of fisheries, flooding of agricultural land and forests, and displacement often result in women bearing a disproportionate share of the costs. It is women who are often left with the burden of caring for their families, finding alternative land and water sources and alternative livelihoods when these are taken away through the development of destructive dam projects. There is evidence that women are not provided the training that the companies promise to local people in order to have the employment opportunities that the companies contend would come with this development. As well, there is anecdotal evidence that the company is not hiring women in order to avoid having to pay benefits to employees who later get pregnant. financial institutions involved
banks
Banesto
BBVA
- profile
BNP Paribas
- profile
Caja Madrid
Citigroup
- profile
Crédit Agricole CIB
Deutsche Bank
- profile
HSBC Group
- profile
ING Group
- profile
Royal Bank of Scotland
- profile
Santander
- profile
Financing for the project is currently unknown. However, the financial institutions that have lent to HidroAysen's owners in the past include Spanish banks Banco Santander, BBVA and Caja Madrid, US banks Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Beginning of January 2010 BBVA stated they are not considering financing HidroAysén due to its elevated social and environmental impacts and lacking a formal Environmental Impact Assessment. For more detailed information about the financing of the project see the Profundo report "European banks financing controversial companies" (page 12). what must happen
Banks approached to provide loans directly to the project or corporate loans to Endesa Chile and Colbún should refrain from support. Banks that are shareholders of HidroAysen's owners should encourage Endesa Chile and Colbun to withdraw from the project and seek alternative and more sustainable energy options for the country. Administrators of Chilean pension funds should withdraw all funds from Endesa Chile to reflect Chilean citizens' opposition to the project. Financial institutions are advised to take into account potential cost overruns and construction delays, and the reputational risks of being involved in financing such a controversial project. Citibank, as depository of Endesa Chile's American Depository Receipts, should reconsider its role in contributing to the market capitalisation of Endesa Chile.
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