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Starting off 2017 With a Bang
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Hello River Lovers!
A lot of major shifts are happening around the world right now, and not all of them are positive. Luckily for you, the news coming out of Futaleufu right now is all good!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Year-End Giving Campaign, Give to the River. Together you contributed over $10,000 US to the river through our fiscal sponsor, Waterkeeper Alliance. We were also awarded the largest grant we've ever gotten from Patagonia Inc for our project, Amplifying Voices in Patagonia. This project will train four local leaders and connect them with the national effort to protect free-flowing rivers in Chile. Thank you to everyone who made Patagonia's Black Friday event a success! It is providing immediate support for groups protecting rivers and mountains in Chile.
Below are updates from December and January. Stay tuned for our 2016 annual report, which looks more in depth at our performance last year and challenges as 2017 begins to unravel.
Also, please join me in welcoming Javier O´Donnell Gonzalez to the world! As of last week, our Executive Director, Rocio Gonzalez, is now a healthy mom on maternity leave. If you've tried contacting Rocio by email and didn't receive an out-of-office message, please forward your message to info@futaleufuriverkeeper.org and we'll be sure to pass word along.
Saludos,
Patrick Lynch
International Director
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Chilean Government Approves "Zone of Touristic Interest" for Futaleufu Watershed
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The move, at the end of 2016, marks a major shift in national planning. It comes just four months after Endesa Chile (now Enel Generación Chile) voted to relinquish its rights to dam the Futaleufu. This was a joint, multi-year effort by the local governments of Futaleufu and Palena. Futaleufu Riverkeeper acted as the lead facilitator or "
entidad gestora," and several local groups are now involved in implementing the Action Plan.
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Photo by Daniel Casado Bissone, Staff Photographer and Communications Advisor.
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First Season on Futaleufu Without Risk of Dams in 20 Years
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In 1994, Enel Generación Chile (known until recently as Endesa) was hard at work destroying rivers. They were damming the famous Biobio River and relocating indigenous families. They were also grabbing up water rights to other major rivers, including the Futaleufu.
For more than 20 years, different groups of locals, tourism operators, filmmakers, photographers and journalists would come together to oppose dams on the Fu. This relentless, sustained effort finally won an important battle when Enel gave up their rights last August.
This season, we are grateful for all those who worked to make a protected river possible. Now we must forge alliances and come together to permanently protect the Fu. Please celebrate and share the news with your friends!
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Current Waterkeeper Issue
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The latest Waterkeeper Magazine features a full page on Futaleufu. This Magazine goes to river lovers around the world, highlighting the amazing work our fellow Waterkeepers are doing to protect peoples' rights to clean water.
All current donors who support Futaleufu Riverkeeper through Waterkeeper receive the magazine in the mail. If you haven't given yet this year but still want to read, you can access a free PDF version online.
Free Link to Latest Waterkeeper Magazine (PDF)
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NRDC Launches New Platform Highlighting Dams in Chile
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Our friends at the Natural Resources Defense Council have just released a great resource for anyone looking to get up to speed on the issue of hydropower in Chile. The platform includes an interactive map and information on several major waterways in Chile, including the Biobio, the Maipo and the Futaleufu. Maps are an important way of showing the world what's at stake if we lose Chile's free-flowing rivers.
Click here to check out NRDC's Map.
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Yale Researchers Arrive in Chile to Present Study on Renewables
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In January, two graduate students from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies traveled to Patagonia as part of a Riverkeeper project to look at renewable energy alternatives to hydropower. The students, Ross Donihue and Jessica Leung, also presented preliminary findings to officials in Santiago, including the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture. Their final report with maps will be released in March.
Follow us on Instagram for Photos of the Trip!
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Futaleufu Riverkeeper | Piloto Carmona 745, Futaleufu | 914.357.4837 | info@futaleufuriverkeeper.org | www.futaleufuriverkeeper.org
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