Pictures: Patagonia to Be Drowned by Dams?

Road Building in Patagonia

Photograph by Daniel Beltra, ILCP

Workers maintain the only road near the Pascua River in Chile (pictured), which was originally built to access a military work camp dating to the 1973-1990 regime of former president Augusto Pinochet.

Pinochet also put most of Patagonia's water rights into private hands. Today water access is largely controlled by foreign corporations that—with the backing of the Chilean government—hope to dam the powerful Pascua and Baker Rivers.

The proposed HidroAysén Project would produce about 20 percent of Chile's current electric demand. But much of that electricity may power growing mining and industrial outfits rather than communities, spurring debate that pits environmental protection against economic development.

Published May 13, 2010

Rio Salto Waterfall

Photograph by Bridget Besaw, ILCP

The raw power of Patagonia's rivers is seen in an aerial view of the Salto River, which flows into the Baker River.

But the Baker River and the neighboring Pascua will soon be tamed if a U.S. $4-billion-dollar series of five dams is built. Chile lacks domestic sources of energy like petroleum, gas, and coal and must import about 90 percent of these fossil fuels from South American neighbors such as Argentina and Brazil, and even from as far as Africa.

While the Spanish-owned utility company Endesa would likely profit from the dams and hydroelectric plans, Chilean leaders also hope to ease their country's energy crunch. As Interior Minister Edmundo Pérez-Yoma has stated, "What we have is water, and we need to take advantage of it."

Published May 13, 2010

Driftwood Collectors

Photograph by Bridget Besaw, ILCP

Daniel Torres (pictured leaping) and friend Augusto Hernandez engage in a common activity in Tortel, Chile—collecting driftwood used to heat homes and cook meals.

The tiny town of 500 residents lies at the delta of the Baker River. Torres and Hernandez, like many of their neighbors, are active in groups that oppose hydroelectric development in Patagonia. But other local Chileans hope the project can bring jobs.

The issue currently hangs in the balance while the HidroAysén dam project undergoes an environmental review, as mandated by Chilean law.

Published May 13, 2010

The Last Gaucho

Photograph by Bridget Besaw, ILCP

Rancher Erasmo Betancur Casanova tends the few remaining sheep and cattle at what was once one of the largest ranches in Patagonia.

In 2004, U.S. citizen Kristine Tompkins, former CEO of the Patagonia clothing company, bought the 173,000-acre (70,000 hectare) Estancia Valle Chacabuco—a sprawling haven of plains, forests, lakes, and mountains to protect it from development.

When combined with neighboring reserves, the ranch is slated to become a large part of a future Parque Nacional Patagonia. It's unclear if the park would be directly impacted by hydroelectric dams or powerlines.

Published May 13, 2010

Lone Guanaco

Photograph by Jeff Foott, ILCP

A guanaco peers across the 173,000-acre (70,011 hectare) expanse of Estancia Valle Chacabuco (pictured). Wild animals such as the guanaco, a relative of the llama, returned to these lands when fences came down on the former ranch.

But if hydroelectric development continues as planned, the region could soon see a string of massive powerlines stretching some 1,500 miles (2,450 kilometers), which would move hydroelectricity from remote Patagonia to a primary distribution center.

Stringing the lines on more than 5,000, 200-foot-high (70-meter high) towers will require a forest clear-cut swath some 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) long and 400 feet (120 meters) wide. Stretching a distance that's comparable to the length of Maine to South Florida in the United States, the swath would be Earth’s longest clear-cut scar, according to Hernan Sandoval, president of the Corporacion Chile Ambiente, a leader in the fight against dams in Patagonia.

Environmentalists fear that the powerlines could lead to the damming of many other rivers.

Published May 13, 2010

Andean Condor

Photo by Daniel Beltra, ILCP

An Andean condor keeps its eyes peeled for a carrion meal above the waters of Nirihuao Canyon in Chilean Patagonia (pictured).

The massive birds depend on air currents to help them glide on wings which can span 10 feet (3 meters). Their habitats disappearing, perhaps a few thousand of these rare birds remain—though conservationists hope that captive-breeding programs can strengthen their numbers.

Published May 13, 2010

Huemul Deer

Photograph by Daniel Beltra, ILCP

The Huemul deer (pictured) is a Chilean icon, but the rare animal survives only in remote, fragmented habitats—such as the basins of the Baker and Pascua Rivers, conservationists say.

Proposed dams on the Pascua would further endanger the deer and also flood its forest habitat while jeopardizing other rare species—including the torrent duck and white-bellied seed snipe, a type of bird.

Published May 13, 2010

Raging Rapid

Photograph by Jack Dykinga, ILCP

Salto Baker, a large rapid on the Baker River, shows the raw power of a river that has the highest flow in Chile.

A proposed dam just downstream of this site would flood the area for power production. The Baker and Pascua Rivers draw their lifeblood from northern Chile, which contain the largest ice caps found anywhere outside of Antarctica and Greenland.

Published May 13, 2010

Pascua River Gorge

Photograph by Bridget Besaw, ILCP

Water roars through a gorge near the headwaters of the Pascua River (pictured), an area that may be flooded by a downstream dam.

The Pascua, aided by these roaring upper reaches, boasts the third highest flow of all Chile's rivers. The river's waters are home to many species, and its basin also contains rare types of forest habitats and animals.

Published May 13, 2010

Sin Represas

Photograph by Daniel Beltra, ILCP

The proposed HidroAysén dam project has become an inescapable issue in Patagonia. Here, in Estancia Valle Chacabuco, graffiti touts the nonprofit Patagonia Without Dams' campaign called "Sin Represas."

Many in the Chilean Patagonia region fear that development of its natural resources will profit distant interests, rather than local ones, as well as hurt a fledgling tourism industry.

Published May 13, 2010

Riverside Town of Tortel

Photography by Bridget Besaw, ILCP

The tiny town of Tortel, Chile, lies at the delta of the Baker River (pictured).

Former National Geographic Young Explorer Trevor Frost—who visited the Patagonian region on assignment with the International League of Conservation Photographers—said the most striking moment was a conversation with a Tortel villager named Noel.

"He said he didn't want the dams, because it would be the beginning of the end for Patagonia," Frost recalled.

"He said that the dams would serve as an invitation for a rush of development that Patagonia has never seen. It will forever change the wild nature of the place, he warned."

Published May 13, 2010