July 25, 2006
Mehuin, Chile
A group of fishermen in Mehuin, a small village in Southern Chile, braved dangerous seas to block a boat hired by Celco, as well as an escort vessel from the Chilean Navy, from entering their local waters. The action was seen as a major victory for the local Mapuche natives and for the citizens of this picturesque oceanside village. Celco was attempting to conduct tests in order to gain government approval for a pipeline which would release mill effluent from one of its nearby pulp mills into Mehuin's waters. The mill, near the city of Valdivia, was forced to close down last year after it was accused of polluting a UNESCO biosphere lagoon, which led to the death of a large number of black-neck swans.
"Local people will die to keep Celco from building their pipeline into the ocean," stated Gino, a local fisherman. "We the local fishermen are passionate and organized against this pipeline and we will sacrifice our lives to protect our future and our environment." Nonetheless, Celco plans on building this 50-mile-long pipeline as a way to continue producing pulp at its Valdivia mill. However, in order to do so, the company needs to complete an Environmental Impact Report, part of which requires conducting tests in the ocean near Mehuin. The fishermen prevented this test from continuing.
The story goes back to 1996, when Celco first proposed the pipeline, seemingly in anticipation of a disaster that would pollute the Rio Cruces watershed. Local fishermen formed the "Ocean Defense Committee" to stop the project, staging massive public demonstrations which eventually succeeded in making Celco table the idea. Since the disaster in 2005, however, Celco has seen the pipeline as their next best option to keep the mill running, as well as to avoid a costly switch to more modern technology. Ricardo Lagos, President of Chile at the time, allowed the mill to resume operations in late 2005 claiming that "a waste pipeline to the ocean is the only solution, since the ocean has an infinite capacity to absorb industrial waste."
Celco's first attempt to enter the waters near Mehuin, in December 2005, was met with fierce resistance from the fishermen, who actually fired shots across the bow of the boat while scientists attempted to take depth soundings, map bottom contours, and take water samples. Celco's boat was forced to flee the scene.
In this most recent attempt to conduct the study, Celco took enormous precaution. Not only did they arrive with a warship escort from the Chilean Navy, they also cut power to the town of Mehuin and sent dozens of riot police to control the situation. Yet against all odds over 40 fishing vessels congregated at the scene, braving torrential rains and heavy seas. They succeeded in harassing the two vessels and yet again prevented the tests from being completed.
Mehuin fisherman Gino summed it up this way: "This is my life and I support my children and my wife from what the ocean gives me. Without the health of the ocean and its fauna, I am dead already. I promise I will not sell out the health of our ocean to the toxic and corrupt paper industry."
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