A pragmatic approach to multiple water use coordination in Chile

Abstract

Critical evaluations of Chilean water regulation have stressed that it systematically omits any coordination of multiple uses. These assessments are valid if one looks only at the regulations embodied in the Water Code. Focusing on the interplay of the Water Code and the Chilean Environmental Law, this paper argues that the Environmental Impact Assessment System is a workable regulatory framework that can address significant multiple-use questions.

Keywords:

• multiple-use coordination
• institutional framework for water use
• environmental impact assessment system
• mitigation, reparation and compensation measures
• minimum stream flows