Help Save Patagonia’s Rivers! International Day of Action for Rivers, March 13

Two of Chile’s most spectacular rivers - the Baker and Pascua - are threatened by plans to build five large dams that will flood rare temperate rainforest, habitat for several endangered species, as well as some of Patagonia’s best ranching lands. The power lines needed to transport the electricity would require one of the world's longest clearcuts -much of it through untouched temperate rainforests of a type found nowhere else on the planet. International Rivers - a group dedicated to protecting rivers and the rights of people dependent on those rivers - is working with Chilean environmentalists to stop the projects.

After recently organizing one of the first ever expeditions to the remote Rio Pascua to publicize the imminent threats facing Patagonia’s rivers, International Rivers will premier a multimedia presentation in California at Berkeley’s La Peña about the trip on March 13. The event starts at 7:30pm. In addition to visuals, live music will come courtesy of Dana Lyons of “Cows with Guns” fame and the Bay Area-based Chilean band Los Materos. Don’t miss the 6pm happy hour in Café Valparaíso next door. The event is FREE.

The March 13 Berkeley event is one of dozens of actions, protests, film showings and conferences slated for the 11th annual International Day of Action for Rivers, which take place on or around March 14. Last year there were over 100 different events around the globe. This year events are planned in Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Chile, Germany, the Philippines, Spain, South Africa and the United States, among others.

The International Day of Actions for Rivers was born in 1997 out of a desire to create an international day to celebrate our rivers, educate people about the threats to those rivers, and demonstrate against destructive large dams around the world. What started as a day of protest in Brazil has mushroomed into a worldwide mobilization. For information about the International Day of Action visit www.internationalrivers.org or call 510-848-1155.

La Peña is located at 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley. La Peña is wheelchair accessible.

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