IPS-English Q&A: ”We Must Seek Alternatives to the Aysén Dams”
 
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:07:10 -0700

 
Interview with Fernando Ávila, corporate responsibility expert* - Tierramérica

SANTIAGO, Oct 25  (IPS)  - Alternatives must be sought to building
the five big hydroelectric dams planned by the HidroAysén company
in Chile's Patagonia region, says Fernando Ávila, executive director
of the Association of Companies and Professionals for the Environment,
AEPA, in this Tierramérica interview.

The attorney is convinced that companies can make economic profits
compatible with environmental protection.

He is enthusiastic in talking about the innovations in ”clean production”
presented in Santiago during the first Latin American Conference on
the Environment, organised Oct. 17-20 by AEPA and two other groups.

Founded in 1999 and including 70 companies that provide environmental
services, and eight embassies, AEPA is ”a bridge between authority
and productive companies,” according to Ávila.

His interest in sustainable development arose when he was project
director of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, based
in Lisbon, Portugal. After 22 years there, he returned to Chile in
1997, when the Law on the Environment had already been approved, which
in his opinion marked ”a before and after” in Chile because it required
companies to present environmental impact studies.

Today what is needed is a ”centre for environmental technologies
-- public-private -- which has the technical authority to resolve
conflicts,” he says.

Excerpts from the recent conversation Ávila had with Tierramérica's
Daniela Estrada in Santiago:

TIERRAMÉRICA: What degree of conflict do you see today between business
and communities about environmental issues?

FERNANDO ÁVILA: It's high, but not because it's worse than before,
but rather because now there is citizen responsibility and there is
the environmental impact system. Before 1994 we didn't know what the
impact of corporate activity was. It isn't that there is more (conflict)
now, but that we know about it. On the one hand, it is cause for concern.
But, on the other, it's better that it is known, because then we can
resolve it.

TIERRAMÉRICA: Do you see some companies doing bad things deliberately?

FA: No, no. One or two in 100. (Before), some did bad things out
of ignorance, but now there is training, they go to fairs in other
countries; they know how to resolve the problems. Today there is still
much to do, but we have made progress. We can't say that in Chile
they don't respect the environment, that in Chile they are destroying
everything.

TIERRAMÉRICA: Why should citizens trust the environmental impact
studies if, once they are approved, they still produce ecological
disasters? For example, in 2004 hundreds of swans died in the southern
Cruces River, the result of waste dumped by a Celulosa Arauco y Constitución
factory.

FA: That is a deficit in government regulation. We must find an oversight
system. It doesn't mean hiring 3,000 or 5,000 inspectors who turn
into bureaucrats. We can seek modern or alternative solutions, like
those in Europe. For example, certify consultants who serve as auditors
for the government, whose work lasts for a certain period.

TIERRAMÉRICA: Environment Minister Ana Lya Uriarte recognises that
monitoring can always be improved, but she proposes that the first
responsibility lies with the company.

FA: I'm not saying that (the problem) is just on one side, but if
the school inspector didn't exist, at recess time the children would
do whatever they wanted. Anyone who knows that the monitor exists,
is real and will carry out the duties, will help. But it is true,
doing an environmental impact study is to agree a contract, and there
I'd talk about the good guys and the bad guys. In other words, those
who comply -- which are the majority -- and those that don't, which
are the ones we talk about most.

TIERRAMÉRICA: What do you think about the controversial project of
the HidroAysén company for building five dams in Patagonia?

FA: I'm not going to speak for AEPA. I believe there are other possible
solutions to avoid building the dams. If it were to serve southern
Chile, perhaps it would be a good thing, but to have to set up 2,000
kilometres of cables to bring more energy to this monster that is
the Metropolitan Region (Santiago) is lack of respect for the country.

TIERRAMÉRICA: What is your opinion on the National Watershed Strategy
being prepared by the government and which would delimit corporate
projects to certain areas?

FA: We have known there would be a Watershed Council, where the public
and private sectors would be represented. Like you say, it would set
limits for the projects, because watershed management is not only
the natural resource of water, but also territorial regulation, productive
development, land use. As such, there will be some activities that
can be carried out in accordance with those parameters and others
that can't. This will allow the development of the regions. It is
an opportunity to organise the rooms of this house we know as Chile.

(*Originally published by Latin American newspapers that are part
of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service
produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development
Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme.)


*****
+ Tierramérica  (http://www.tierramerica.info/index_en.php)
+ TIERRAMÉRICA: Ecologists Divided on Bachelet (http://www.tierramerica.net/2006/0121/iacentos2.shtml)
+ AEPA (http://www.aepa.cl/)
+ CHILE:  International Campaign for a Dam-Free Patagonia (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39597)
+ CHILE:  Mega Dams, Mega Impacts, Mega Half-Truths (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39399)


(END/IPS/LA/EN DV CS SU/TRASP-LD/DE/TA/07)


 
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