Save The Waves Coalition, Waterkeeper Alliance and FIMA launch new environmental collaboration in Chile
Save The Waves Coalition is proud to announce it is a founding member of Maule Itata Coastkeeper (Vigilante Costero), a strategic partnership with Waterkeeper Alliance and Fiscalia del Medio Ambiente (FIMA) to open Chile's first Waterkeeper Alliance program.
"This is an exciting time and a turning point in the protection of Chile's coastal environment," stated Josh Berry, Chile program director for Save The Waves. "Never before has an organization of this type established a permanent presence in coastal Chile with such close community participation." The program is based in the coastal town of Curanipe in Chile's Maule Region and includes an outreach office, community education center and a boat to patrol the waters of the region. A full-time Chilean advocate, Rodrigo de la O Guerrero, is the Maule Itata Coastkeeper and patrols, monitors and protects the area's marine waters in close cooperation with local fishermen, citizens, businesses and scientists.
The Maule Itata Coastkeeper is responsible for protecting and monitoring the environmental health of the coastal waters and coastline of south-central Chile's Maule and Bio Bio Regions. Some of the critical issues being tackled by the program include over-fishing, forestry industry pollution, the coal industry, raw sewage, pesticides runoff, over-development from urbanization and encroaching roads in sensitive coastal areas. The Maule Itata Coastkeeper program launched in January 2009 in Curanipe and covers a geographic region of approximately 100 km of coastline. In the near future the organization anticipates growth into other coastal and freshwater regions of Chile.
Francisco Ferrada, executive director of FIMA, commented: "For FIMA this is a great satisfaction and a tremendously rewarding challenge to be part of the Waterkeeper Alliance. It allows us to develop new, meaningful projects in Chile to truly protect water resources here."
"This is a huge victory for Save The Waves' program in Chile, and for the Chilean coastal environmental movement in general," said Save The Waves executive director, Dean LaTourrette. "Waterkeeper is the perfect partner for Save The Waves in Chile and beyond, to help protect coastal water quality in and around the surf zone."
For more information and the latest news on Maule Itata Coastkeeper: www.vigilantecostero.cl
About Waterkeeper Alliance: The Waterkeeper movement began with fishermen protecting water quality on the Hudson River in 1966 and has since grown to be known as Waterkeeper Alliance, an international grassroots organization of 182 non-profit programs in 17 countries that protect rivers, lakes, coastlines, bays and estuaries. Waterkeepers are part investigator, scientist, lawyer and advocate for a designated body of water. www.waterkeeper.org
About FIMA: Fiscalia del Medio Ambiente is the first non-profit environmental law firm in Chile working to preserve the country's natural resources by reducing and eliminating environmental damage. FIMA represents and helps the citizens of Chile to prevent and resolve environmental problems, and simultaneously promote sustainable development and conservation. www.fima.cl
