Patagonia Dispatch 2 February 12, 2010 from Coyhaique, Chile

Here in Chilean Patagonia I get the sense that there is no better time to expose the proposal to build five dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers. Driving around Coyhaique I see large billboards that scatter the countryside and ads and stickers that say “Chile no dice a hidroaysen” and “Sin Represas”. Add the fact that recent public opinion polls show that minds are changing on the dams (roughly 70% of Chileans oppose the dams now whereas only 3 years ago it was only 30%) and I know there could be no better time for the iLCP to raise visibility with a RAVE.

Right now the RAVE team is assembling and the excitement is building. The news that mining will be banned in the Flathead River Valley of BC in part because of the Flathead RAVE has further energized our team by confirming that imagery and media can help to produce tangible conservation outcomes.

iLCP photographers Daniel Beltra and Jeff Foott are here and tomorrow arrive Jack Dykinga and Bridget Besaw. Filmmaker Edgar Boyles is also here and already hard at work interviewing people for the film we plan to produce. Today the rest of us are spending our time brainstorming about ways to best use the media we collect to stop the dams. We are also working on staying dry as the our one day of clear and warm weather yesterday has turned to wet and windy.

Stay Tuned for more from Trevor and the rest of the crew as the RAVE continues!