When my sister returned from a five-month South American adventure, she came back with tales of Patagonia’s razor-sharp mountains, glacial valleys, and water so crystal blue and clean that you can drink it directly from the source. She also told me about the signs and billboards that state ‘Patagonia Sin Represas!’ or ‘Patagonia Without Dams.’
The documentary ‘Patagonia Rising,’ which investigates a proposal to build five dams on two of Patagonia’s most furious rivers, is coming to Reno/Tahoe for a showing that will raise funds for the film’s outreach in Chile. Truckee-based adventure guide company Bio Bio Expeditions is co-hosting the film screening with Patagonia, the clothing company. ‘Patagonia Rising’ not only strikes a chord with Bio Bio (the expedition company is named after a beloved whitewater river in Chile that was damned in the 1990s), but the film addresses an issue that would resonate with the active and environmentally conscious community of Truckee/Tahoe, said Damara Stone-Goddard, guide and co-owner of Bio Bio Expeditions.
‘In my mind, the region of Patagonia is one of the last unspoiled, wild regions of the world,’ Stone-Goddard said.
Today, Patagonia is at a crossroads. The HydroAys’n proposal would build hydroelectric dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers. The dams would forever destroy the watersheds’ biodiversity and transform a way of life for the gauchos who live along the rivers’ banks. The future is uncertain — the proposal was approved in Santiago last March, but the regional senator of Patagonia appealed the decision.
‘It’s important for people to realize not only what’s happening to the watersheds in their community, but what’s happening on a global scale,’ said Brian Lilla, the documentary’s director. ‘Because it’s all tied together.’
‘Patagonia Rising’ travels downstream on the Rio Baker, ‘one of the most remote regions in Patagonia,’ Lilla said. Spending 10 days on a 16-foot raft, the film crew interviewed the people who live on the river’s banks, a trip that yielded a strong cultural perspective from those who would be most affected by the dams.
‘A large part of the story is told by the gauchos,’ Lilla said. Some are in favor of the project; most are not.
The film also takes viewers inside the headquarters of both HydroAys’n and the renewable energy center in Santiago. Chile may have a need for energy, but there are alternative solutions to damming wild rivers. The country has incredible resources in terms of solar and geothermal energy, among other options.
The film crew partnered with the Patagonia Defense Council, an alliance in Chile that acts as a watchdog to development in Patagonia, on the project. And they are currently raising funds to promote the film in Chile and increase public awareness about the dams.
‘We’re finding that every time we screen it down there, it really has an impact on the dams,’ Lilla said. ‘[Public opinion] is a really big factor in the final decision.’
Lilla will be at the Reno showing to answer questions and update the audience on the latest news of the dams in Patagonia.
