Ecologists and residents oppose the Chilean government’s decision to build a 60-kilometer road through the center of Pumalín Park nature sanctuary, in the country's 10th region, instead of along its coastal border — which is the cheaper option and would have lesser environmental impacts. “At stake is the conservation of Chilean ecosystems versus a development model that has destroyed three-quarters of the national territory,” Juan Pablo Orrego, director of the Ecosistemas group, told Tierramérica.

The owner of the park, U.S. multimillionaire Douglas Tompkins, and environmentalists say the decision announced Oct. 4 will only benefit the transnational corporation Endesa and the local firm Colbún.

The government proposed that the route, which would connect the cities of Puerto Montt and Chaitén, would also include the transmission lines of four hydroelectric dams that the two companies hope to build.