In April, 2008, 54.7 per cent of those polled were in favour of the HidroAysen and Energía Austral plan, and only 37.4 per cent said they were against it.
A few days ago, another poll was published which shows that 57.6 per cent of those polled do not agree with the projects in the Chilean Patagonia, while 31.9 per cent do accept them.

One of the local groups opposing the dams is the Patagonia Defense Council which, among other things, is carrying out an international campaign to persuade the potential investors on the inconvenience of the Project, and is circulating these polls.

The results presented by Encuesta Ipsos show that the population is aware of the “irreparable damage” the building of these plants might entail for the natural and cultural heritage of the country, the Patagonia Defense Council warns in a statement published in the website: http://www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl

And now the spotlight is in the European offices. The opponents to this energy model expect that the results of the poll are taken into account by the Italian company Enel, which controls HidroAysen through Endesa Spain.

The conflict for the building of these five dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers has gone to the judicial sphere. A few months ago, the Committee for the Defense of Flora and Fauna (CODEFF) filed a law suit due to the illegal felling of a native forest by a subcontractor of Energia Austral.

The opponents aim at making the Australian company responsible for the felling of 10-12 hectares of forest, which supposedly are the property of the Chilean government.

So far, the Regional Authority has not answered to the request of information submitted by the Chilean environmentalist organization, member of the international federation Friends of the Earth.