News Categories Environment CONGRESS TAKES HARD LOOK AT PUYEHUE HYDRO PROJECT
| CONGRESS TAKES HARD LOOK AT PUYEHUE HYDRO PROJECT |
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| Written by Leigh Shadko | |
| Thursday, 04 September 2008 | |
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The Chamber of Deputies' Commission for Natural Resources, National Patrimony and Environment is currently analyzing a controversial hydroelectric project slated for southern Chile's Puyehue National Park. The legislators aim to investigate why Region X's Environmental Commission (COREMA) gave a green light to the project in the face of numerous concerns. The project consists of two run-of-the-river hydroelectric generating facilities proposed by Hidroaustral, a subsidiary of Italian energy company Idroenergía. The plants would require an investment of US$20 million and have a combined generating capacity of 13 MW.The COREMA approved the project by an eight-to-seven vote earlier this year, a decision that sparked controversy among environmentalists, indigenous organizations and public figures. Their greatest concern? The generators will be located inside of one of Chile's most-visited national parks. Puyehue's thick forests and steep mountains shelter numerous species of wild animals, including pumas, gray foxes, güiñas and vizcachas. Snow melt from nearby mountains flows into the park's various rivers and lakes, which together with its volcano vistas, natural hot springs and ski resort attract some 400,000 visitors per year (PT, July 24). Dep. Patricio Vallespín, a Christian Democrat who represents a district in Region X, fears the COREMA's approval of the hydroelectric project sets a potentially disastrous precedent, opening the floodgates for development in all of Chile's national parks and protected areas. According to the head of the Commission for Natural Resources, Socialist Party (PS) Dep. Denise Pascal, there is concern that the project may affect tree growth and water flow – and tourism – within the park as well. The commission met on Monday with National Environmental Commission head Ana Lya Uriarte and National Patrimony Minister Romy Schmidt to ask why the COREMA had approved the project. The deputies wanted to learn why the Region X agriculture secretary voted in favor of the project, even though members of the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) had opposed it. Asked whether she thought COREMA members had been pressured to give the thumbs-up to the project by government energy officials, Pascal said she did not know, but that the decision to approve had to have been “due to something.” Pascal said she is not opposed to the construction of new energy facilities, but that the commission aims to ensure “that those projects that are carried out respect national parks” and other protected areas. Uriarte said the generating facilities are business ventures and therefore “incompatible with the concept of a national park.” She said construction of the plants would place Chile in violation of the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere, which the country ratified in 1967. The agreement prohibits commercial exploitation of resources located within protected areas. The commission plans to discuss the Puyehue issue with other authorities, including National Energy Commission head Marcelo Tokman, in the near future. Pascal said legislators are currently studying a bill that may change the way projects like the Puyehue plants are analyzed and approved. Still, she said it is too early to provide details. By Leigh Shadko ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 September 2008 ) |
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