Boric affirms that Chile must guarantee water as a “human right”

the president of Chile, Gabriel Boricaffirmed this Tuesday that the country must move towards a “model that allows guaranteeing the human right to water” in a context of unprecedented drought that extends for more than 13 years.

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In addition, the president assured that, with a serious climate crisis as a backdrop, the human right to “food sovereignty, care for nature, and the sustainable development of the Chilean countryside that we so much need” must also be guaranteed.

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“Today we are facing a mega drought. Traveling through Chile, I have been able to see with my own eyes what the consequences of this and the structural deficiencies of the current water management model are,” added the Chilean head of state, within the framework of World Water Day, which is celebrated every 22nd of March to remember the vital relevance of this resource.

“The road to a solution is not going to be easy or fast, but I want you to know that we are making every effort to turn the wheel and move forward as a country towards a water governance model with an ecosystem approach and based on participation. citizen,” he said.

The objective is to go “in line with the Escazú Agreement,” stressed Boric, who signed this agreement last Friday, the first in environmental matters in Latin America, which is now awaiting its review in Congress.

With a message broadcast through social networks, together with the president of the South American country, the Minister of the Environment, the scientist Maisa Rojas, one of the researchers co-authors of the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) addressed the population. ).

“In terms of water, humanity today is facing a tremendously adverse world scenario due to the climate crisis, which hits Chile with particular force and leaves us in a complex situation of vulnerability,” said the Secretary of the Environment.

Chile is the country with the greatest water crisis in the entire Western Hemisphere and 76% of its territory is affected by lack of water, according to Greenpeace.

Experts attribute it to the lack of rainfall —in 2021 the fourth driest year since records were recorded—, but also to the water ownership regime, which is 80% in private hands, mainly from large companies. agriculture, mining and energy.

This system is based on the 1981 Water Code —written during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990)—, a regulation that granted water rights in perpetuity and turned them into tradable goods.

This model of ownership of water is being debated in the convention that drafts the new Constitution, where some propose to include water as a public good and prioritized for human consumption, one of the most common claims of the protests for equality in 2019.

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Source: Elcomercio

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