The New York Times

Dams and tourism: Impensable today the businessman from the northern area of Aysen, Gonzalo Cortes, talked about Lodges, fishing adventure of entrepreneurs indicating that we have a vision different from theirs (HidroAysen). We see a potentiality which is not interesting for them. Normally these companies based their projects, their compensation and amortization of investments in times much shorter than what you might think an aysenino or an entrepreneur who is in Aysen and who plan their projects as an option of life. He added that normally this person sees it as an option to make what he believes is the best quality of life possible, do what you like in the pristine, unspoiled environment and preserve it for the generations to come. It is not the pursuit of profit in the short term as that projected these large companies, which estimate their projects so that their profitability is higher in the shortest possible time. And that’s grim for the Region of Aysen, which could lose everything he has for these projects.

He also recalled that much of the dams listed as compatible with tourism were built in the decades of the 50s, 60s and 70s, and that today it would be unfeasible to propose such alternatives, even more so when studies have shown that in Chile the energy demand is already covered to the 2025 without damming Patagonia. As a way of reinforcing the approach reported a few days ago in United States was decided to dismantle 4 dams on the Klamath River, in order to allow the recovery of biodiversity and tourism in the basin, in what The New York Times has described as the greater removal of dams in modern history. Despite his critical vision and in its quality of business leader, Patricio Silva relieved that the organizers of the seminar have given chance to show his vision to the Guild.