Water Governance in the Context of IWRM: Chile - Climate Change and Water Governance: Adaptive Capacity in Chile and Switzerland - page 143

Code/law Articles and descriptions/original text

Article 32 The Water Code forbids construction on the river bed, unless an administrative authorization is issued (Art. 32). Furthermore, the

Construction Law (“Ordenanza General de Urbanismo y Construcción”) bans or limits edifi cation on fl ooding prone terrain,
and in protected areas of natural value resources (e.g. wetlands). Such restriction areas should be contemplated in the City's
Zoning Instrument (“Instrumentos de Planifi cación Territorial”)

Prioritisation of Uses In Chile there is no legal preference of one use over another, as the rule “fi rst come, fi rst served” is applied (Vergara, 1998).

Notwithstanding, according to the Law 19.253 on Protection, Promotion and Development of Indigenous People, article 64
provides on protection of the water of Aymaras and Atacameña Communities. The law granted property rights over the water
of those communities, such as rivers, canals, irrigation ditch, slopes notwithstanding the right granted for third parties
according with the Code of Water. No new water rights will be granted on to lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and aquifers that
supply water owned by various indigenous communities established by law without ensuring in advance the normal water
supply to the affected communities

Regulations on the
Control of Water
Contamination

The most overarching rule is the statutory instrument to control water pollution (“Reglamento para el Control de la
Contaminacion Acuatica”, Decreto 1, Ministry of National Defense, 06 January 1992). It establishes the general regime for
prevention, control, and combat of pollution in sea water, ports, rivers, and lakes. Most of its rules are related with water
related activities, such as navigation, fi shing, etc.

Law 19.300
Environmental
Framework Law

The environment legal framework does provide for protection of water. However, general legislation is scarce and scattered.
The main pillar of protection is given by the Environmental Impact Assessment system considered in the Environmental
Law (Ley N° 19.300), which assess the environmental impact of particular projects

Article 31 bis (Access
to Environmental
Information)

Provides for the right of every person to access environmental information obtained by the Administration, as required by the
Constitution and Law Nº 20.285 on Access to Public Information

Article 7 (Strategic
Environmental
Assessment)

According to article 7 bis, the President of the Republic shall decide on the policies and plans subject to the strategic environmental
that have an impact on the environment or the sustainability, on proposal of the Council of Ministers. The development of policies
and plans should include the design and approval stages. In doing that, the design stage of a policy or plan another relevant bodies
should be incorporated to ensure a coordinated action of public entities affected by the policy or plan

Article 4 & 26 (Public
Participation)

According to Article 4, the State is required to facilitate citizen participation and allow for access to environmental information
as well as promote educational campaigns on environmental protection. Article 26 provides for the establishment of mecha-
nism to allow for public participation in the Environmental Impact Assessment process, which itself is provided for in Article
27 (EIA)