Once touted as a model for sustainable energy, the Alto Maipo Hydroelectric Project became one of Chile’s most controversial infrastructure developments and a cautionary tale of environmental destruction, human rights violations, and massive financial fallout. While Alto Maipo has left lasting scars for the affected communities, it also catalyzed key policy changes aimed at preventing similar injustices in the future. CIEL’s report, Alto Maipo: A Fight for Justice, A Legacy of Harm, dives into this case, examining how advocacy efforts reshaped accountability in global development finance.
Developed in an already climate-vulnerable watershed, the Alto Maipo project worsened water scarcity, degraded ecosystems, and deepened economic instability, threatening rights to water, food, housing, and work. Despite these foreseeable impacts, financial backing from development finance institutions, such as International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), propelled the project forward. Alto Maipo: A Fight for Justice, A Legacy of Harm documents how communities, alongside advocates like CIEL, mounted a strategic campaign that pushed key investors to divest and helped drive groundbreaking policy changes — including IFC’s Remedial Action Framework and Responsible Exit Approach. This case study also offers key lessons in accountability, advocacy, and legal strategies.
Alto Maipo has become a pivotal case, pushing IFC and the IDB to begin acknowledging their responsibility to provide remedy when their financing causes harm. While the outcomes and impacts for communities did not fully reflect the hopes of those who resisted, their efforts transformed how development banks operate — and how they are held accountable.
Published April 18th, 2025.