Newsflash: HidroAysén announces the route of its power lines

Recently, HidroAysén (the multinational energy conglomerate planning to erect five mega hydro dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers) announced the route of their proposed transmission line, now estimated to cost USD$3.8 – 4 billion, although likely more: between Cochrane and Chaitén, a distance of about 1,200 miles, there would be 1,500-1,700 high tension towers over 160 feet high. The lines would pass through many iconic, ecologically sensitive, and previously untouched areas of Patagonia, including the General Carrera and Las Torres lakes and Cerro Castillo National Park, as well as countless private properties. Putting together all the data we now have about the projects, it is becoming increasingly clear how damaging these dams will be to the Chilean landscape and its people.

Short video of the Rio Baker, at its confluence with the Chacabuco, at the border of the future Patagonia National Park

The release of this new information came later than it should have. In August 2008, HidroAysén announced the results of its environmental impact assessment. According to standard protocol, the route of their transmission line should have been released in conjunction with this earlier report; yet, in a move that benefitted their chance of approval, the company presented these items for approval separately.

For a close-up look at the power lines and the route they will cover, check out this interactive map.

Upon releasing this information, HidroAysén also began talks with twenty communities along the Baker and Pascua rivers that will inevitably be affected or displaced entirely by the dams, in the hopes of minimizing the negative public response. The overwhelming response from citizen-led groups who oppose the dams is that these conversations are an empty gesture – that no amount of money or attention can compensate for the cultural loss. Patagonia “is Chile’s only piece of environmental heritage that remains intact,” says Patricio Rodrigo, executive secretary of the Patagonia Defense Council. “Even the smallest alteration will significantly degrade its value – in terms of both its beauty and our national identity.”

With this tough news comes a renewed sense of energy and urgency from the opposition, united around a common belief that Patagonia is a precious and irrevocable treasure for Aysén, for Chile, and for the world. This is why it’s now more important than ever that we preserve what we can. Knowing that the future of these rivers is uncertain, it’s easy to feel discouraged. But let us also focus on the possibilities in front of us and what we can do to protect this place that is currently under unilateral attack. In building Patagonia National Park, we are drawing a permanent line in the sand. Please join us as we redouble our efforts to safeguard this last unmarred piece of the planet.

*****

For more background on the Patagonia Sin Represas campaign, below is our update from November 15 (see full post here):

Just a few months ago, the proposed damming of Patagonia’s Baker and Pascua rivers made headlines worldwide. Patagonia Sin Represas, the campaign that began in Cochrane as a small grassroots movement to oppose HidroAysén’s plan for five mega-dams, had blossomed into a series of large-scale demonstrations that swept through Chile’s major cities in May and June.

At that time, momentum was at a fever pitch, and optimism was building as HidroAysén underwent a series of environmental impact assessments. A major victory came on June 20^th when the court of appeals in Puerto Montt ordered that all permitting and initial construction be put on hold pending the outcome of their review. This unprecedented decision, though inherently temporary, will remain an important historical milestone; as NRDC’s Amanda Maxwell writes, it was “a rare victory for environmental law over big business interests.” Incidentally, one of the leaders in reaching this agreement was Macarena Soler, a lawyer with Conservación Patagonica.

Yet despite these legal advances and the outpouring of opposition to the dams, HidroAysén has managed to push its project forward through the impressive series of obstacles the opposition has thrown in its path.  And because the international media moves from one environmental hot topic to the next in a matter of months, it’s easy to have a false sense of security about what very well might happen to the endangered Baker and Pascua. The most recent development does not bode well for these beloved waterways: in October, the court of appeals overruled the injunction, thereby lifting the suspension order a lower court had imposed in June.

But the battle is far from over. From here, the case will go to the Chilean Supreme Court. So it seems there is still a chance to turn this roadblock into a dead end for the dams. For those who wish to stand in solidarity with the Sin Represas movement, the best advice is simple: don’t give up. From what we’ve seen so far, public opposition from both in and outside of Chile has been the strongest force in delaying HidroAysén’s agenda. Whether taking to the streets in Santiago, raising awareness about this unfinished story, or engaging in the growing dialogue around Chile’s need for alternative energy, the message must be loud and clear: these dams will be unhealthy for Chile’s communities, its wildlife, and its future.

 

Ten Reasons to Donate to Conservacion Patagonica This Holiday Season

Our annual fund drive is about halfway complete, and while we’re on track for a fantastic year of giving, we need your help! If 100 more people make a donation, 2011 will set the record for the most fund drive donors ever.  Make a online donation here.

As our followers know, the park will open to the public at the beginning of 2012, and we have a busy year ahead of trail-building, campground-constructing, wildlife-recovering, and more.  Your help will launch us into our biggest summer season yet. Here are ten good reasons to support the Patagonia National Park project:

1. Wilderness for all

Times are tough, yes. but look at the big picture: now more than ever, it’s important that we protect these natural spaces and make them available to everyone. No one says it better than Nicholas Kristof in his New York Times op-ed: “Gaps between rich and poor have been growing, but our national lands are a rare space of utter democracy: the poorest citizen gets resplendent views that even a billionaire is not allowed to buy.”

2. Fight the clutter! Give in someone’s name

Know anyone who’s sick of all the stuff that piles up during the holidays? Who wants to turn away from, not embrace, overconsumption? A contribution to CP in his or her name could be the perfect gift. No matter the size, this is literally a gift that keeps on giving.

3. This land is your land

Once you’ve decided you want to donate to a worthy cause, you might find yourself wondering, why Patagonia, why not somewhere in our own country? Take a step back and see that the planet is yours, ours, everyone’s to protect. As CP board member Yvon Chouinard says, Patagonia is one of the few really wild places left on Earth, and we as a species must act to save it.

4. Your gift goes 100% towards the park

Unlike in many non-profits, charities, and other NGOs, every cent that you donate goes directly towards constructing the park, never to administrative or overhead costs.

5. Make history

Bruce Babbitt, U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Clinton, just visited the park and declared, “Patagonia National Park will be the Yellowstone of South America.”  And you can be part of creating it. We invite you to play a key role in this landmark project, which millions will visit in years to come.

6. Climate change is a reality; saving ecosystems is a must

As a recent New York Times article details, carbon emissions made their largest-ever jump in 2010, despite efforts to curb climate change.  Myriad natural disasters and changes in weather patterns make it clear that climate change is happening now.

So what can we do? Plenty–and saving wild places, where nature has a shot at coping, becomes increasingly critical.  Patagonia National Park will protect 650,000 acres, an area the size of Rhode Island, giving whole populations of wildlife a chance to thrive.

7. Recover endangered species

The future park protects one of Earth’s largest remaining populations of huemul deer, a rugged, sturdy animal well-adapted to mountain living but ill-suited to competition from introduced livestock.  On the Chilean national shield, the huemul represents a national priority for conservation.  Transforming Estancia Valle Chacabuco from a degraded sheep ranch to the heart of Patagonia National Park marks a key stride in changing the future of this species.

8. We’re restoring, not just protecting, wilderness

Truly a story for the 21st century: with a bit of help, nature can restore itself.  We’re learning this lesson year-by-year, as we witness how fast overgrazed grasses grow taller, thicker and healthier.  Herds of guanacos, formerly fenced out of all the best land in the Chacabuco Valley, are returning en force–any park visitor is guaranteed to see herds galloping and meandering along.  Ecological damage can be undone, but it takes time and money.

9. We’re building things the right way, not the cheap and easy way

A park needs visitors, and visitors need trails to hike, places to sleep, somewhere to learn, and maybe even a spot to eat.   We design and build our facilities to be elegant, comfortable, respectful to the natural beauty surrounding them, and ecologically low-impact.

10. You get what you give

Ultimately, this park will be for you and your fellow wilderness enthusiasts. The park pre-opens to the public this month and, with your help, will continue to grow into a full national park in the coming years. Your gift of any size will come back to you tenfold when you finally visit the unique and rugged landscape you helped to protect. We can’t wait to see you there!

So, are you convinced yet? If so, please do make a donation!

Monitoring Energy Demand, Moving Toward Energy Independence

Creating new parks saves critical pieces of wilderness, but operating parks takes energy, which may leave an ecological footprint of its own.  Recognizing this, Conservacion Patagonica aims to make Patagonia National Park the first energy-independent park in the world: from houses to vehicles, the future park should not require the input of (climate-change-causing, polluting-to-extract) fossil fuels.  To reach this goal, we’ve had to put together outside-the-box solutions that bring together a network of energy-saving projects.

Some of these projects are well underway.  We designed all buildings to require minimal electricity, heating and upkeep, through using energy-efficient lighting (often LED) and appliances, advanced insulation and durable construction.  A team of stone masons quarries the building material right in the valley.    Solar panels and solar collectors generate day-time energy throughout the year, while a micro-hydro station produces power all months but three.

Solar panels form just one element of our renewable energy system

Micro-hydro stations like this one generate energy without the deleterious environmental impacts of mega-dams

Part of the long-term agenda for the park is to is harness wind power during the windy summer months, store it through a hydrogen system, and use it to power the buildings and vehicles. On his recent trip to Chile, renewable energy expert Amory Lovins, founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, spent a week at the future park to consult on the planning of this new infrastructure.

A challenge in drawing up the park’s energy plan is predicting energy demand. Since the facilities are so new, there is little preexisting data about the park’s energy usage. But as we near the home stretch of the park’s creation, with a record number of visitors, volunteers, and interns set to arrive this season, along with the completion of several new buildings, we are now in a position to start tracking our energy consumption. This way, we can begin to make accurate projections and set tangible goals in keeping with our original commitment to efficiency and self-sustainability.

Corinne tests the new energy monitor

To this end, we’ve developed a new demand monitoring system with the help and expertise of two incredible volunteers: Sam Mason, a mechanical engineer with Building Services Engineers and Environmental Design Consultants Atelier Ten in London, and Corinne Benedek, a mechanical engineer with Arup in New York. Last week, Sam and Corinne completed the installation of a new system of state-of-the-art electricity meters.  Sam reports the idea for this project came five years ago, when he read about Conservacion Patagonica and the goal of making the world’s first energy-independent national park.

Planning out the energy system: Francisco and Juan Carlos (our design/ energy team), Sam, and intern Jordan Bowlby

He describes the utility and aim of this system:

These meters collect energy consumption and power demand data every 15 minutes. This data is analysed to help understand the peak electric demand and annual energy consumption and will allow two key developments.

First, the data will show the hourly variations in energy consumption from which an energy management plan can be developed. This plan will inform park staff of the energy usage patterns and create a framework for how and when energy can be consumed. In effect, the staff (and visitors) will enable a demand response program to smooth out energy consumption in the park and make the electricity grid more stable.

Secondly, the data will show energy consumption over the course of a year for the park and will be the first step to inform the size of the proposed wind turbines and hydrogen storage system. In order for this second step to be fully realized, however, meters will need to be installed on all buildings in the park and it is our intention to have the remaining meters installed by the end of 2012.

We’re poring over the information generated already: it’s bizarrely fascinating to learn how much electricity your washing machine uses and to watch the ebb and flow of daily use.  Real-time data allows park employees and visitors to see the link between their personal habits and the energy needs of the park.

We’ll start figuring out when demand is the lowest, so we can concentrate high-energy projects in those moments, evening out usage.  With only a few households at the park headquarters, our system of demand management can be more communal than those of large electrical grids.

As we develop this project, we’ll explore how to share these lessons about energy use, efficiency, and renewable sources with park visitors.  We hope that people will leave Patagonia National Park not only with a new appreciation for wild places, but (just as importantly) with clear steps in mind of what they can do back home to limit their impact on our remaining wilderness.

Many thanks to Sam and Corrine for dedicating their time and creativity to our project and helping us take a giant leap towards our big goal. We look forward to continuing this partnership! Meanwhile, we still need more funding to finish this ambitious energy program; if you think an energy-independent park sounds interesting, please consider supporting us!

The Most Remote Greenhouses on Earth? New Pilot Program in the Works to Help Park Guards Grow Food

Around Conservacion Patagonica, we often discuss the relationship between food production and wilderness conservation.  We focus on the creation of new national parks–strictly protected wilderness areas–but we also think about how humans can grow the food (and other materials) we need to thrive, in more ecological and thoughtful ways.  As we often say, “conservation should be the consequence of production.” That is, we as a species must find ways to meet our needs that do not take such a heavy toll on the planet that conservation is impossible.

At the future Patagonia National Park, we realized that most of our food came from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away.  Until a few years ago, vegetables arrived by truck from Chile’s central valley.  So, although the growing season is short and the climate harsh, several park employees came up with the idea of building greenhouses at the headquarters.  A few years in, we’re churning out greens for everyone living and visiting the Chacabuco Valley.  Not only do the greenhouses reduce the footprint of our food, they also inject much-needed vegetables and vitamins into the mutton-based tradition Patagonian diet.

Now our team is taking this effort of local food production to a new level.  With the help of Josh Metten, a new greenhouse intern, the guardaparques (park guards) will design, build, and tend small greenhouses at their remote puestos in different areas of the park.

Josh came to Patagonia from Jackson, Wyoming to join our brand-new internship program at the future park. This program had its trial run last year when a handful of volunteers, instead of participating in the traditional program, got to work exclusively and consistently with particular teams at the park for months at a time: one worked with the trailbuilders, one with the landscaping crew, one was a chef at the lodge, and one taught English in the schoolhouse. This year, the program grew into something more official, complete with a competitive application process. Josh comes to us with a wealth of experience in horticulture and permaculture in cold-weather climates.

Justin, our other fantastic greenhouse intern, is responsible for maintaining the greenhouse and gardens at the park headquarters

The idea for this new greenhouse project originally came from Luigi Solís (who, among many other things, helps manage the volunteers during the summer; for more about Luigi, see our recent interview). The guardaparques live year-round in relative seclusion; each is responsible for tracking a different population of fauna on the park grounds. Currently, the guardaparques do not have much variety when it comes to their food, as their food arrives by resupply fairly infrequently.

Soon after his arrival, Josh got to work determining how this idea would work in practice. He reports, “in permaculture we call this a probortunity, where the problem becomes the solution.” Where many would simply see a lack of fresh food as the inevitable cost of isolated living, Luigi and Josh see the situation as an opportunity to jumpstart autonomously-driven sustainable farming.

Luigi (left) sharing mate with guardaparque Eduard Castro (right)

So far, Josh relishes his new role, both because of the creativity it requires and the chance to dramatically affect the quality of life for the guardaparques. He has taken considerable time to get to know them and their land individually, which helps him think more broadly about the potential of this infrastructure.  He writes:

I’ve met three of the five guardaparques so far–Edward Castro, who monitors the Aviles Valley area, René, who runs the pilot sheep/ sheepdog program, and Daniel, who tracks huemuls. They are all excited about the opportunity to have fresh produce.  Involvement of the rangers is going to be essential for this to be successful as they will be the ones maintaining the plants after the greenhouses are complete.  Importing fertility is also something that will be difficult so I would like to incorporate a good-quality composting program with each greenhouse using only onsite materials. As all of the rangers work with some sort of livestock I am hopeful for a good deal of success.

The immediate challenge will be working on a tight schedule with limited materials. The plan is to have the 2×3-meter mini-greenhouses finished in time for summer, which is just around the corner.  They should last at least four years, assuming the plastic will be replaced every year. Josh and the guardaparques will have to work resourcefully with the materials at hand, as getting lumber into these remote areas is close to impossible.

The home of guardaparque Daniel Velazquez, near Lago Cochrane, which will soon be equipped with its own greehouse

Attitude is everything when it comes to an experimental new project like this. And fortunately, Josh seems ready to embrace the unexpected and the unfamiliar.  He reflects that:

One of the things I have been learning in my short time in Chile so far is what type of role I am going to have here.  It is easy for people to come to another country knowing what the ‘right’ answer to a supposed ‘problem’ is and then tell the locals exactly what it is they are doing wrong.  It is much more difficult however, to listen and understand the exact desires of a different culture.  Once this is done, aid and teaching, if still relevant, can occur.  From the responses I have been getting from the park rangers and the fact that its origin was from a Patagonian, I feel good about helping to incorporate my ideas on localized agricultural production into this area.

So it sounds like everyone involved, from Josh to the guardaparques, will find this experience both educational and rewarding. We look forward to hearing further updates as the project continues through the summer ahead!