Abstract

FERNANDEZ NAVARRO, Hans Andrés  and  FERRANDO ACUNA, Francisco José. Rocky Glaciers in the Semi-arid Zone of Chile: The Relevance of an Unregulated Water Resource. Cuad. Geogr. Rev. Colomb. Geogr. [online]. 2018, vol.27, n.2, pp.338-355. ISSN 0121-215X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcdg.v27n2.63370.

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.

Keywords : water supply; rocky glaciers; glacier protection law; mining; semi-arid region.

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