At the southernmost tip of South America lies a land of stunning contrasts: the towering Andes rise sharply from the cold deep waters of the Pacific, creating a rugged expanse of coastal islands, dense rainforests and snow-capped glaciers. But plans to build dams on two of Patagonia's pristine rivers, the Baker and the Pascua, could lay waste to one of the world's last unspoiled regions and flood thousands of acres of wildlife habitat. In addition, a proposed transmission line needed to carry electricity from the dams would be one of the longest in the world, extending more than 1,400 miles and cutting through national parks, reserves and wildlife sanctuaries.

With help from our BioGem Defenders, NRDC is working with local and international partners to save Patagonia in what has become Chile's biggest environmental campaign. We supported two comprehensive technical studies assessing energy alternatives which indicated that Chile could meet much of its future energy needs from renewable sources and energy efficiency - without mega-dams. The company proposing these dams, HidroAysén, first submitted its environmental impact assessment in August 2008. But thousands of criticisms from the public and government agencies have delayed the review process until June 30th, 2010, when the company is due to deliver its final answers to these observations. Until government authorities reject the project outright, HidroAysén can still push its dams through.

Now is the time to push even harder for sustainable energy in Chile to protect Patagonia from HidroAysén’s unnecessary mega-dams.