The project consists in the promotion and financing of initiatives to denounce and combat the huge interests related to dams for the production of hydroelectric energy, which hinder us and make navigation difficult. It must be made clearly clear that hydroelectric energy (for which in italy, and only in italy, public incentives still exist) is not clean energy, because there are many scientific studies that demonstrate that the interruption of river continuity, caused by hydroelectric plants, causes very serious damage to the ecosystem of the entire hydrographic basin. The www.openrivers.org project, in which Aguarajà is a convinced participant, is based on this research, aimed at removing river dams.
Aguarajà promotes information campaigns with the slogan “stop the Dam/age”. Dam/age (in English: dam age, but also damage) is a documentary film where the Indian writer Arundhaty Roy denounces the destruction of the environment and the culture of an entire population caused by the Narmada dam in India. Her fight, paid for with prison, has inspired several movements around the world against the concreting and destruction of rivers, perpetrated in the name of short-sighted and forgetful progress.
The anti-dam struggles in Italy have led to the (temporary) suspension of dam projects in Valsesia, obtained thanks to the extraordinary mobilization of canoeists and fishermen.
The protest, however, did not prevent the construction of the Lucchio power station on the Lima river in Tuscany, a river already largely devastated by hydroelectric power plants.
In 2004, Tuscan canoeists and fishermen, together with environmental associations, tried to counteract a devastation on one of the most beautiful rivers in the region. Despite the protests, the contractor carried out the work, piped the river for kilometers. Unfortunately, other projects are still in progress on Lima and on many other streams in the Serchio valley, which is perhaps the most exploited in Italy for hydroelectricity.
The project is international but speaking of the territory in which Aguarajà works and of Italy more generally, there is a lack of awareness of how much human choices and interventions have an impact on environmental sustainability. There is very little interest among young people in the topic of sustainable development.
Aguarajà aims to:
- Inform and raise awareness among the community and in particular among the participants in its activities, about the damage that hydroelectric power plants cause to the ecosystem.
- Promote responsible and eco-sustainable tourism such as requiring schools to reach the place where they do activities by train, rather than by car or by tourist bus. Many school groups have evaluated that reaching Aguarajà base by train is not only cheaper, but also and above all more ecological.
Importance of water sport:
Those who approach outdoor sports often already have a strong sensitivity to the subject of ESD, canoeing itself represents a formidable means of discovering the environment with zero impact.
Added values:
Sports activities such as rafting, kayaking, canoeing and canyoning allow users to have a direct relationship with nature.
A bond is created with it during the activity that inevitably pushes people, especially children and teenagers, to want to know the environment in which they live this beautiful experience.
The precarious situation of the ecosystem of the Serchio River and the Lima Torrent and its exploitation for the construction of dams and hydroelectric power plants, offers the possibility to participants of water sports, to see concretely the environmental damage. Promoting water sports can inspire movements of people interested in sustainable development and the protection of their territory and ecosystem.
By promoting sustainability in water sports activities, the project can encourage responsible and virtuous behaviors, such as waste reduction and ecological mobility.
Target groups:
- School students
- Water sports and adventure enthusiasts
- Family tourism
- Responsible tourism
- Company staff for team building activities
Good practices:
- Responsible tourism and ways to inform and raise awareness among their customers on environmental issues;
- Ability to create a civil society movement capable of influencing and positively conditioning the choices of institutions and economic lobbies.
- Understanding water sports in a transversal way: physical activity, adventure, education, environmental sustainability, community building
Synergies:
Create synergies and network different skills to promote educational models, awareness-raising actions for citizens and strategies to actively involve institutions, schools and local companies. Collaborate to promote water sports, such as kayaking, surfing or sailing as an effective tool for ESD.
