Juan Pablo Orrego is a Chilean environmentalist, president of the activist group Grupo de Acción por el Biobío, which represents the indigenous Pehuenche

Pehuenche

Pehuenches are an indigenous people that are part of the Mapuche peoples and live in the Andes in south central Chile and Argentina. Their name derives from their habit of harvesting of piñones, the seeds of the Araucaria araucana or pehuén...

 people in the Biobío Region. He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize

Goldman Environmental Prize

The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The prize includes a no-strings-attached award of...

 in 1997, for his organizing of protests against the ecological damages from a series of dam building projects involving the Biobío River, including the Pangue

Pangue Hydroelectric Plant

Pangue Hydroelectric Plant is a hydroelectric power station in Bío-Bío Region, Chile. It lies west of Callaqui volcano at the confluence of the rivers Pangue and Huiri-Huiri. The plant uses water from the upper Bío-Bío River and produces 467 MW of electricity...

 and Ralco Hydroelectric Plant

Ralco Hydroelectric Plant

Ralco Hydroelectric Plant is a hydroelectric power station and dam in Bío-Bío Region, Chile. The plant uses water from the upper Bío-Bío River and produces 690 MW of electricity. The plant was built by ENDESA in 2004. The project has proven controversial with local indigenous Mapuche since a...

s.