Rocky Glaciers in the Semi-arid Zone of Chile: The Relevance of an Unregulated Water Resource

The rocky glaciers located in the semi-arid zone of Chile are a major water resource that is currently exposed to a considerable destructive impact due to both global climate change and the continuing expansion of mining activities in high mountain regions. This article analyses the current situatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cuadernos de Geografía: Revista Colombiana de Geografía
Main Authors: Fernández Navarro, Hans Andrés, Ferrando Acuña, Francisco José
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:Spanish
Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Bogotá - Facultad de Ciencias Humanas - Departamento de Geografía 2018
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Online Access:https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/rcg/article/view/63370
Description
Summary:The rocky glaciers located in the semi-arid zone of Chile are a major water resource that is currently exposed to a considerable destructive impact due to both global climate change and the continuing expansion of mining activities in high mountain regions. This article analyses the current situation of the Putaendo River valley, Aconcagua River basin, in the region of Valparaíso, where mining projects coincide spatially with unidentified and unstudied rocky glaciers. It also reviews the way the Chilean Constitution approaches to glaciers. In this context, the prevailing neoliberal policies and an unclear, fragmented and environmentally weak body of regulations have allowed the uncontrolled intervention of the cryosphere in the central Chilean Andes, whose population has been exposed to severe droughts in the last decades. Los glaciares rocosos en la zona semiárida de Chile constituyen recursos hídricos de importancia mayor, en los que tanto el cambio climático global como la continua expansión de actividades mineras en regiones de alta montaña, están generando un impacto destructivo considerable. En este trabajo se analiza la situación actual del valle del río Putaendo, cuenca del río Aconcagua, región de Valparaíso, donde proyectos mineros coinciden espacialmente con glaciares rocosos no reconocidos y menos estudiados. También se revisa la Constitución Política Chilena en su abordaje sobre los glaciares. En este contexto, la política neoliberal imperante y un cuerpo normativo poco claro, fragmentado y ambientalmente débil, han permitido la intervención descontrolada de la criósfera en los Andes centrales chilenos, cuya población ha estado sujeta a situaciones de sequías severas en las últimas décadas. As geleiras rochosas na região semiárida do Chile são recursos hídricos e geomorfológicos de muita importância na atualidade, nos quais tanto a mudança climática global quanto a contínua expansão das atividades de mineração em regiões montanhosas estão gerando um considerável impacto destrutivo. Este artigo ...