E/CN.4/2003/90 page 13 the company was handling the indigenous and environmental issues. Studies detailing the cumulative harmful effects of the six-dam project on the indigenous people and the environment were rejected by the authorities. In fact, both CONADI and the National Environmental Agency CONAMA at one point advised the Government to reject the project, but their positions were overruled. The Government became concerned about mitigating the negative effects of the project on indigenous peoples, yet recognizes that the indigenous law is subordinate to other laws that in this case appear to be paramount. 35. Despite the opposition of 4,000 Pehuenches to their involuntary resettlement and the destruction of their traditional environment and way of life, and in complete disregard for the existing indigenous and environmental legislation (Chile has not yet ratified ILO Convention No. 169), the company (now part of a transnational corporation) continued to buy off individual Pehuenche families in exchange for their landholdings. By 2002 only seven families were holding out while the Ralco project was nearing completion. One of the problems for the Pehuenche is that their traditional collective landholdings and territories have been privatized by decree, making it easier for business interests to appropriate indigenous lands for their own purposes. A court ruled that the Pehuenches had priority when recovering land that was located above the water line. 36. Observers have noted that in the Ralco issue, business priorities, with State support, appear to override the social and environmental concerns that have been expressed by massive protests and court action undertaken by Mapuche organizations and their supporters. As the six-dam project on the Bio-Bio progresses, the future of the Pehuenche people, particularly the two local communities directly affected by the rising waters of the dam, Ralco-Lepoy and Quepuca-Ralco, looks bleak indeed and their traditional way of life appears to have been broken to the point of no return. Moreover, the Ralco case clearly shows the social tensions that arise between a “modernizing” development model and the social, environmental and cultural costs to the people who bear the burden of this economic transformation. The Government of Chile reports that indigenous peoples are not involved in the planning of major development projects, but once such projects have been decided upon, then indigenous communities may become involved in order to help mitigate possible negative effects of these projects. The Special Rapporteur suggests that Chile ratify ILO Convention No. 169 as soon as possible and that it abide strictly by emerging international standards and its own indigenous and environmental legislation in order to adequately protect the interests of indigenous peoples; indigenous communities should be involved directly whenever major economic development projects that affect their lives and livelihoods are being considered.46 Colombia 37. The Emberá-Katío indigenous people have traditionally lived in the area surrounding the Sinú and Verde Rivers in north-western Colombia (Departments of Córdoba and Antioquía). Their ancestral territories are legally recognized as two Indigenous Resguardos (reserves), created in 1993 and 1996, and inhabited by about 500 families (about 2,400 people). The Emberá-Katío are one of the several indigenous peoples who have suffered most from the persistent violence of Colombia’s civil war. Over many years they have been negotiating with