Today we begin the first of three days in Coyhaique, the capital of the Aysen region. During our stay here, we will participate in meetings and make a presentation at a scientific conference on hydroelectric development in Patagonia.
Today we participated in the meetings. Instead of launching into a description of them however, I will provide some background information. Throughout the fall semester each member of Dam Analyst Squad has been searching for data. For example Flavia is looking for specific discharge rates and Laura, for energy consumption numbers. We are searching for this information because we hope to make as few assumptions as possible when completing our projects. Although we have had numerous meetings throughout Aysen, we have found little data beyond that which we had before departing from the States. Although frustrating, the search continued today in our meetings with Centro de Investigación en Ecosystemas de la Patagonia (CIEP) and Conservación Patagonica. Although there was no pot of golden data at the end of this rainbow, we did have the pleasure of discussing the proposed dams with local Patagonians. Each time we speak with community members, Dam Analyst Squad obtains a better idea of the intricate nature of the socio-political and economic aspects of the project. When we first arrived in Patagonia, Dam Analyst Squad was outside looking in on a region and its highly controversial project. Although we are still outsiders per se, we feel now as if we are part of the community, truly participating in the dam debate, pushing ourselves to positively contribute to the cause.