Written by Rebecca Argo
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
The Chilean daily La Tercera reported Monday that the “Sendero de Chile” project, a hking trail the length of Chile designed to promote ecotourism, will not open until 2038.
Originally slated for completion by Chile’s 2010 bicentennial, the Sendero de Chile will be the “longest trekking route in the world,” said Oscar Santelices, head of Chile’s National Tourism Service (SERNATUR) (ST, FEB. 1). Still, only 1,800 km of the planned 8,500 km have been constructed. The finished section, lying between Arica and Navarino Island, only amounts to a fraction of the projected path. A private foundation will now direct the project.
The Sendero de Chile project was first conceived by former President Ricardo Lagos in 2002. At that time, he described the initiative as, “A pedestrian hiking path that would cover Chile along our mountains, from Visviri in the north to the extreme south. It would pay tribute to our (country’s) beautiful nature and allow people to explore by our country by foot. More than a government idea, it is a decision that will benefit future generations” (ST, Nov. 14, 2002).
However, at the time of the announcement, there was no planned outline or estimated budget for the path. There wasn’t even a construction company selected for the job.
National General Manager of the project, Sebastian Infante, defended the project by saying, “We are delayed just like anyone else in the world would be.” He noted that the Transcanadian Trail that took 35 years to complete and said that 200 kilometers will be added to the trail in 2008 alone.
SOURCES: LA TERCERA
By Rebecca Argo (editorATsantiagotimes.cl)
rafting chile
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
WATER FROM DISAPPEARED GLACIAL LAKE FLOODS NEARBY TOWNS
Written by Matt Malinowski
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Flood waters along the Carretera Austral
Region XI officials disclosed Wednesday that water from a five square kilometer Patagonia glacier lake that disappeared earlier this month has flooded local towns and farming communities. Local officials say the town of Tortel and rural communities near the confluence of the Baker and Colonia Rivers were the hardest hit.
Valdivia Scientific Study Center (CECS) scientists said that underground fissures brought on by receding glaciers and global warming caused Lake Cachet to disappear sometime between April 6 and 7.
CECS officials said the water first traveled below the Colonia Glacier, before shooting into the nearby Lake Colonia and finally ending up in the Baker River. They said the force of the water was so strong it caused the Baker, the country's largest river, to change course for about two hours. According to Chile's General Water Directorate, the Baker's average water level rose by four meters (ST, April 11).
As of Wednesday, areas located up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) are still recovering from the flood waters, though the hardest hit areas surround the confluence of the Baker and Colonia Rivers. Local farmers say rising waters swept away dozens of sheep and chickens, isolated other farm animals, and caused significant property damage.
Speaking of attempts to rescue his livestock on the morning of April 7, local farmer Andino Arratia said he "could not rescue (his) sheep because, on horseback, there was just no way. There was high water everywhere. Everywhere you went there was water, and there was no way to travel."
Meanwhile, Tortel municipal government worker Ismael Mellado said that, during the days following the lake's disappearance, flood waters covered roads and almost completely covered the town's emblematic boardwalks. Tortel is located along the Baker River some 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the site of the former lake.
Officials reported that communities surrounding southern Chile's famed Carretera Austral (Southern Highway) were also affected, and that parts of the roadway were temporarily impassable.
Aside from inundating local communities, this incident has revived researchers' concerns that global warming is wreaking more havoc than ever on southern Chile.
"The frequency of this type of disappearance in Chile's southern regions has CECS scientists concerned. It confirms that these events, which now occur sporadically in glacial lakes, are happening more often now that climate change is picking up," said a recent CECS press release (ST, April 11).
SOURCE: ECOCEANOS
By Matt Malinowski (editorATsantiagotimes.cl)
rafting chile
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Flood waters along the Carretera Austral
Region XI officials disclosed Wednesday that water from a five square kilometer Patagonia glacier lake that disappeared earlier this month has flooded local towns and farming communities. Local officials say the town of Tortel and rural communities near the confluence of the Baker and Colonia Rivers were the hardest hit.
Valdivia Scientific Study Center (CECS) scientists said that underground fissures brought on by receding glaciers and global warming caused Lake Cachet to disappear sometime between April 6 and 7.
CECS officials said the water first traveled below the Colonia Glacier, before shooting into the nearby Lake Colonia and finally ending up in the Baker River. They said the force of the water was so strong it caused the Baker, the country's largest river, to change course for about two hours. According to Chile's General Water Directorate, the Baker's average water level rose by four meters (ST, April 11).
As of Wednesday, areas located up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) are still recovering from the flood waters, though the hardest hit areas surround the confluence of the Baker and Colonia Rivers. Local farmers say rising waters swept away dozens of sheep and chickens, isolated other farm animals, and caused significant property damage.
Speaking of attempts to rescue his livestock on the morning of April 7, local farmer Andino Arratia said he "could not rescue (his) sheep because, on horseback, there was just no way. There was high water everywhere. Everywhere you went there was water, and there was no way to travel."
Meanwhile, Tortel municipal government worker Ismael Mellado said that, during the days following the lake's disappearance, flood waters covered roads and almost completely covered the town's emblematic boardwalks. Tortel is located along the Baker River some 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the site of the former lake.
Officials reported that communities surrounding southern Chile's famed Carretera Austral (Southern Highway) were also affected, and that parts of the roadway were temporarily impassable.
Aside from inundating local communities, this incident has revived researchers' concerns that global warming is wreaking more havoc than ever on southern Chile.
"The frequency of this type of disappearance in Chile's southern regions has CECS scientists concerned. It confirms that these events, which now occur sporadically in glacial lakes, are happening more often now that climate change is picking up," said a recent CECS press release (ST, April 11).
SOURCE: ECOCEANOS
By Matt Malinowski (editorATsantiagotimes.cl)
rafting chile
Thursday, January 24, 2008
NEW GREEN PARTY FORMS IN CHILE
Written by Helen Bunting
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Green Party Founding Member Sara Larrain
Benjamin Witte, Patagonia Times
Promises “Mother of All Battles” Against Patagonia HydroAysén Dam Project
After a year of jumping legal hurdles, the Partido Ecologista (or Green Party) was recognized on Jan. 11 in the El Diario Oficial, the official government registry. Led by Universidad de Concepción political scientist Félix González, the party will be formally introduced to the public this week.
Well-known environmentalists Sara Larrain, director of Chile Sustentable, Ecology Policy Institute director Manuel Baquedano and Renace National director Isabel Lincolao also joined González in forming the party. These older activists will take on a supporting role in the party, but want a new generation to step into leadership roles.
During a meeting last week with Chile’s Secretary General José Viera-Gallo, the directors of the new party introduced a 10-point list that will define the party’s relationship with the government. The list, known as the “Chagual Agreement,” outlines promises made by Michelle Bachelet to the green movement when she was running for President in 2005. Bachelet signed the agreement during her campaign.
“We have restated our intention to respect this agreement,” Viera-Gallo told the Chilean daily La Nación.
The new party will not align itself with either the center-left governing Concertación coalition or the rightist opposition Alianza. In past elections, environmentalists have aligned themselves with the Concertación, but recent decisions by Bachelet’s government led them to disassociate themselves from the established blocs of Chilean politics.
During the Wednesday meeting at La Moneda, González outlined “two critical points” connected with the Chagual Agreement that trouble environmentalists. The first was the Zanelli Commission, a body created to study the possibility of developing nuclear energy in Chile. The environmentalists claim President Bachelet promised not to consider nuclear energy when she signed the agreement (ST, Oct. 2, 2007). Secondly, González said that the government has not made a decision on the labeling of genetically-modified foods.
González told the Santiago Times that Minister Viera-Gallo “assured us that the nuclear matter will not (…) go much further than what the Zanelli Commission has already done. On the subject of genetically altered foods, he told us that the government had no intention of approving them.”
Viera-Gallo also tried to pacify the Green Party’s worries by comparing the US$200,000 the government gave to the Zanelli Commission to the more than US$6 million in direct subsidies it has given to renewable energy through Corfo (the Corporation for Development of Production).
González explained to the Santiago Times that the Green Party is necessary because a “cultural change” is taking place in Chile. He argued that people are becoming more concerned about how environmental issues affect them, which allows his party to propose new topics. In order to get its message out, the party plans to use “alternative media” that is not owned by interests that can influence the way news is written.
The goal of the party is to be a “distinct alternative,” González said. “We don’t come from the political class, we are not going to be in Juntos Podemos (the far left coalition called Together We Can), we are not going to be on the right, and we are not going to be in the Concertación, because they don’t represent us. This is the principal message.”
González also said the party will form part of the growing international fight against the HydroAysén project. He described environmentalists’ efforts to thwart the dam initiative as “the mother all battles” because they are up against three industrial giants: Colbun, ENDESA and Transelec.
If approved by the government, HidroAysén’s multi-dam project could generate as much as 2,750 MW of electricity, roughly equivalent to about 20 percent of Chile’s current generating capacity. The project, slated for the region’s two largest rivers – the Baker and the Pascua – has an estimated price tag of US$2.5 billion.
That figure does not include an additional US$1.5 billion likely needed to build a 1,200 mile transmission line between southern Region XI, an area also known as Aysén, and central Chile, where the electricity would be consumed. HidroAysén is still working out details with Transelec, a Canadian-owned electricity transport company, over the costs and route of the extensive line.
The project has generated no small amount of opposition, particularly from environmentalists – both in Chile and abroad – who say the dams, reservoirs and transmission line would cause irreparable damage to pristine southern Chile. (ST, Jan. 14)
The party plans to run candidates in October’s municipal elections, hoping for five percent of the vote. According to their website, before being legally recognized in Chile, the party was incorporated into the International Green Parties, through the Federation of Green Parties of America. The party has been an active member of the Federation for four years.
By Helen Bunting (editorATsantiagotimes.cl)
rafting chile
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Green Party Founding Member Sara Larrain
Benjamin Witte, Patagonia Times
Promises “Mother of All Battles” Against Patagonia HydroAysén Dam Project
After a year of jumping legal hurdles, the Partido Ecologista (or Green Party) was recognized on Jan. 11 in the El Diario Oficial, the official government registry. Led by Universidad de Concepción political scientist Félix González, the party will be formally introduced to the public this week.
Well-known environmentalists Sara Larrain, director of Chile Sustentable, Ecology Policy Institute director Manuel Baquedano and Renace National director Isabel Lincolao also joined González in forming the party. These older activists will take on a supporting role in the party, but want a new generation to step into leadership roles.
During a meeting last week with Chile’s Secretary General José Viera-Gallo, the directors of the new party introduced a 10-point list that will define the party’s relationship with the government. The list, known as the “Chagual Agreement,” outlines promises made by Michelle Bachelet to the green movement when she was running for President in 2005. Bachelet signed the agreement during her campaign.
“We have restated our intention to respect this agreement,” Viera-Gallo told the Chilean daily La Nación.
The new party will not align itself with either the center-left governing Concertación coalition or the rightist opposition Alianza. In past elections, environmentalists have aligned themselves with the Concertación, but recent decisions by Bachelet’s government led them to disassociate themselves from the established blocs of Chilean politics.
During the Wednesday meeting at La Moneda, González outlined “two critical points” connected with the Chagual Agreement that trouble environmentalists. The first was the Zanelli Commission, a body created to study the possibility of developing nuclear energy in Chile. The environmentalists claim President Bachelet promised not to consider nuclear energy when she signed the agreement (ST, Oct. 2, 2007). Secondly, González said that the government has not made a decision on the labeling of genetically-modified foods.
González told the Santiago Times that Minister Viera-Gallo “assured us that the nuclear matter will not (…) go much further than what the Zanelli Commission has already done. On the subject of genetically altered foods, he told us that the government had no intention of approving them.”
Viera-Gallo also tried to pacify the Green Party’s worries by comparing the US$200,000 the government gave to the Zanelli Commission to the more than US$6 million in direct subsidies it has given to renewable energy through Corfo (the Corporation for Development of Production).
González explained to the Santiago Times that the Green Party is necessary because a “cultural change” is taking place in Chile. He argued that people are becoming more concerned about how environmental issues affect them, which allows his party to propose new topics. In order to get its message out, the party plans to use “alternative media” that is not owned by interests that can influence the way news is written.
The goal of the party is to be a “distinct alternative,” González said. “We don’t come from the political class, we are not going to be in Juntos Podemos (the far left coalition called Together We Can), we are not going to be on the right, and we are not going to be in the Concertación, because they don’t represent us. This is the principal message.”
González also said the party will form part of the growing international fight against the HydroAysén project. He described environmentalists’ efforts to thwart the dam initiative as “the mother all battles” because they are up against three industrial giants: Colbun, ENDESA and Transelec.
If approved by the government, HidroAysén’s multi-dam project could generate as much as 2,750 MW of electricity, roughly equivalent to about 20 percent of Chile’s current generating capacity. The project, slated for the region’s two largest rivers – the Baker and the Pascua – has an estimated price tag of US$2.5 billion.
That figure does not include an additional US$1.5 billion likely needed to build a 1,200 mile transmission line between southern Region XI, an area also known as Aysén, and central Chile, where the electricity would be consumed. HidroAysén is still working out details with Transelec, a Canadian-owned electricity transport company, over the costs and route of the extensive line.
The project has generated no small amount of opposition, particularly from environmentalists – both in Chile and abroad – who say the dams, reservoirs and transmission line would cause irreparable damage to pristine southern Chile. (ST, Jan. 14)
The party plans to run candidates in October’s municipal elections, hoping for five percent of the vote. According to their website, before being legally recognized in Chile, the party was incorporated into the International Green Parties, through the Federation of Green Parties of America. The party has been an active member of the Federation for four years.
By Helen Bunting (editorATsantiagotimes.cl)
rafting chile
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