WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

I am writing to express my personal concern about this. The dams
would destroy thousands of acres of rare and endangered Chilean
forests. The transmission lines would provide no benefits to local
communities, but would require the extensive clearing of Chilean
native forests. It would be one of the world’s longest transmission
lines to date, cutting a more than 2,450-km-long swath through
national parks and wilderness reserves. All of this destruction would
threaten aquatic, bird and mammal species already at risk, including
an endangered Chilean deer, the huemul, of which less than 3,000
are still alive today.
I believe that Enel has a responsibility to prevent this
environmental and social damage by using its influence with Endesa
Chile to stop these plans and promote truly green energy. This is the
only way to prevent any further harm to Enel’s reputation.
With best wishes...
As a consequence of the construction of the world’s third-largest
dam project, the Ralco Dam in Chile, the indigenous culture of the
Mapuche-Pehuenche people now faces extinction. Their tribal region
was buried under the swollen waters of the River Bio Bio. In 1997,
the Spanish energy company Endesa bought the entire river from the
Chilean government. The then president, Eduardo Frei, had a personal
interest in Endesa through one of the firms involved. While he was in
power, Mapuche leaders were criminalised and imprisoned. In 2003,
the last remaining families left their land and were resettled elsewhere.
Nowadays, they have to pay for electricity generated through the
inundation of the land which was once theirs. The documentary film
“Switch It Off!” by Manel Mayol reconstructs the dramatic events
surrounding the building of the Ralco Dam and shows the courageous
resistance of Chile’s native population. Members of the Mapuche-
Pehuenche tribe describe how they were completely ignored while
their land was being sold and how the laws protecting indigenous
peoples were flouted in the process. In no uncertain terms, they analyse
67