According to the statement they support organizations demanding the Chilean government to declare the area of the Patagonian Archipelagos and Ice Peaks as a World Heritage Site. They also state the reasons why its conservation is important, since it is one of the main sources of freshwater in the world.

“Western Patagonia is a territory currently threatened by unsustainable activities. Chilean and foreign corporations, in complicity with the government, have increased their interest in the water present in these lands”, they state, making reference to the attempts to establish hydroelectric megaprojects in the area.

“Dams are not the only threat, 50,000 km of coasts of extraordinary beauty and biodiversity could be used to large-scale salmon production. These companies, mainly Norwegian and Chilean, which destroyed the environment of Chiloe and islands from North-Western Patagonia, aim to continue moving towards the internal seas”.

Precisely, salmon farming is a highly polluting activity which goes against the rights of Chilean workers, since it is one of the main causes of deaths of workers around the country. For this reason salmon farming has been severely criticized by trade unions and environmentalist organizations.

The activists are demanding the Chilean government and the international community to declare the area World Heritage Site. “As young environmental activists we aim at a new relationship between humankind and nature. Our lives depend on nature. We are all part of it”, they state.

Photo: http://www.chicagopublicradio.org