Heroes for a Better World

Juan Pablo Orrego
(1949-)

Chilean Environmental Activist
1997 Winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize
1998 Winner of the Right Livelihood Award

birthdate: ?
birthplace:
Santiago, Chile

Juan Pablo Orrego is a Chilean environmentalist who helped to found and coordinates Grupo de Acción por el Biobío (GABB), which seeks to stop construction of six dams along the Biobío River in Chile. Orrego and other environmentalists sought to stop the building of the dam for many reasons. The dams would greatly impact the ecology of the river and its surrounding areas. In addition, the Pehuenche indigenous people would lose their lands if the dam were built. Finally, the state-owned utility company that was to build the dams was privatized near the end of dictator Pinochet's regime and took control of more than 90% of Chile's water rights. With the building of the six dams, the private utility company would also have a monopoly of Chile's energy supply as well. Despite years of lobbying nationally and internationally, seeking legal actions and organizing massive protests, the first dam was completed in 1997, and a second in 2004. But the campaign has been successful in stopping the remaining dams, which has saved much of the river, and it helped to win the indigenous people a much better relocation settlement than they had been given. GABB's work has also helped to bring to public awareness, in Chile and around the world, issues of energy monopoly and indigenous people's rights when it comes to development goals. In 1997, Juan Pablo Orrego received the Goldman Environmental Prize and in 1998 he received the Right Livelihood Award (often called the Alternative Nobel Prize) ”...for his personal courage, self-sacrifice and perseverance in working for sustainable development in Chile.”


Better World Handbook
by Ellis Jones, et al

Buy This Book


All FREE printable materials © The People For Peace Project unless otherwise noted.
May be distributed for non-commercial uses only.

BetterWorld Heroes are included for illustration purposes. No endorsement implied.

We Can Build A Better World


BetterWorld Shopping Guide
by Ellis Jones

Buy This Book

 

THE BETTER WORLD SHOW
The Reality Show that will change reality ...

BetterWorldShow.com

BetterWorld.net
Be a Hero for a Better World - Every act of compassion makes a difference!

Global Movement | Calendar | Resources | | BetterWorld.net/clubs | About This Project