Chile se encuentra constantemente asediado por eventos de origen antrópico y natural que, en la mayoría de los casos, devienen en desastres o catástrofes que traen consigo pérdidas humanas y materiales de variada intensidad, cuyo costo se combina con aquel asociado a los sucesivos procesos de reconstrucción que deben ser implementados. Sin embargo no toda amenaza debe, necesariamente, conducir a un desastre; y es allí donde radica el principal aporte de la gestión del riesgo de desastres, que puede ser correctiva, reactiva o prospectiva. El presente artículo busca conocer cómo han influido los desastres naturales ocurridos en Chile en la última década, en la incorporación de la gestión de riesgos de desastre dentro de las normativas urbanas existentes en Chile. Lo anterior partiendo de una hipótesis que plantea que dicha inclusión pareciera ser más bien escasa, y cuando ésta ocurre, tiende a focalizarse principalmente en una gestión del riesgo reactiva.

During the past 40 years, Chile’s EIA system evolved from a fragmented procedural exercise, with limited technical input into decision-making, to an essential public policy tool. This article presents an overview of the EIA system evolution in Chile, its main characteristics, and procedures, and highlights new advances and practical results in the follow-up stage. The analysis revealed evidence that despite positive improvements in Chile’s EIA process, there remain significant weaknesses in almost all stages. In the follow-up specifically, some pivotal improvements were made in connection with inspection, enforcement, and monitoring practices. In this context, evidence indicates that those changes have impacted positively on the evaluation of obligations contained at the environmental licenses as well as the governance of the process. However, some challenges to be addressed remain mostly related to monitoring, communication, and citizens’ engagement.

El año 2010 se promulgó la Ley 20.417, que creó la Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA), la cual entró en plenas funciones el 28 de diciembre de 2012. Los principales elementos de diseño de esta nueva institución se basaron en los resultados de las Evaluaciones del Desempeño Ambiental llevadas a cabo por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE) en 2005, los que fueron indicados en el discurso de la Presidenta de la República el año 2008, al momento del ingreso del proyecto de ley propiamente tal. Si bien resultan evidentes los adelantos en materia de fiscalización y cumplimiento ambiental respecto del modelo de coordinación desarrollado e implementado desde 1994 a 2012, es necesario avanzar en incrementar competencias en el ámbito regional. El propósito de tales incrementos es limitar los conflictos de interés y superar los desbalances territoriales mostrados en términos de fiscalización, o las situaciones en que se vulnera la justicia ambiental, asociadas a la interpretación de los Planes de Descontaminación en distintas áreas urbanas del país. Junto con ello, se debe implementar mejoras legales sustanciales para que operen eficazmente los mecanismos de incentivo al cumplimiento de Planes de Reparación y Autodenuncia, entre otros aspectos.

Public environmental information can improve industry performance, reduce environmental conflicts, and foster informed citizenship. The latter is directly linked to resilience because it is a “process that enables people to learn together, support experimentation, and increase the potential for (social and technological) innovation”. Importantly, the transparency and disclosure of environmental information alone do not have the desired impact; the general public may have access to information but not understand the content. It is necessary to reframe the technical language of information to reach broader stakeholder understanding. The Environmental Observatory for Mining Projects is an applied research project that aims to provide a public information access system for diverse stakeholders. It integrates data from various public services and makes them available to a variety of stakeholders, including the general public, through a web server and application that facilitate accessibility and understanding by using the co-creation methodology for public services. As a result of the project, the authors identified 25 indicators, six of which relate to climate change, including greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, air pollution, hazardous waste, and tailing deposit locations. These indicators are relevant for decision making through the combined knowledge of public policies, information priorities on the impacts and vulnerabilities of climate change, and more practical issues related to data availability. The authors conclude that environmental information systems must provide people with essential data, but that such information must also be understandable, manageable, comparable, and interoperable so as to promote access to crucial information for resilient communities.

El Quisco is a district and popular seaside resort on the coast of Chile that has suffered the effects of the growing demand for second homes and tourism activities. The district has the fourth highest influx of a floating population in the region, which has had numerous impacts on the district at several levels. The objective of this article is to examine the issue of carrying capacity in Chile and its public management at the local level. To this end, this research developed an exploratory and instrumental case study. Carrying capacity problems were first identified in the existing literature. This information was subsequently complemented with more local information by means of: analysis of territorial planning instruments (TPIs) relating to the district; participative workshops with municipal government stakeholders; and, lastly, confirmation of the problems identified through correlation analysis of available historical data. The main result of this research was the determination of carrying capacity issues in El Quisco. This broadly coincides with indications from the existing literature and TPIs, while factors identified by local stakeholders are territory-specific, giving rise to new measurement variables. It was possible, in turn, to rule out certain carrying capacity issues perceived by the community.

The challenges of climate change require in-depth attention and targeted strategies for specific sectors, such as energy and mining. Within the mining sector, climate change imposes constraints on the sustainable extraction of minerals, thereby heightening the importance of several minerals in addressing these challenges. Chile emerges as a pivotal nation due to its substantial reserves of copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite, which are essential for energy transition and decarbonization processes. Consequently, Chile must foster gradual processes to establish competitive advantages based on technological and innovative capabilities, thus projecting a competitive and sustainable mining industry. This endeavor should be accompanied by enhancements in policies and instruments to guide development, expanding local value creation. This study examines the global challenges faced by the mining sector in the context of the energy transition and evaluates Chile’s response through an assessment of public policies for mining development. It provides an analysis of the scope of various public policy instruments to establish the link between international agreements and development opportunities, subsequently proposing a series of indicators to assess policy progress. To this end, the Environmental Observatory of Mining Projects is developing indicators to evaluate compliance with these policies. In addressing the nation’s challenges related to green and sustainable mining, 20 indicators have been developed in collaboration with civil society and public and private stakeholders through a design thinking process. These indicators enable the evaluation of aspects such as air quality, water quality, and the surface area affected by tailings, among others. The initial section of the document outlines the global challenges in achieving the carbon neutrality goals set by the IPCC. The subsequent section elaborates on the theoretical framework of the research, addressing theories of economic development and sustainability, public policy approaches considered in recent years, as well as the governance of mining development, with an emphasis on its capacity to articulate industrial policies, promote environmental sustainability, and foster technological innovation. The third section details the research methodology and framework of the study. This study examines how Chile’s mining policies align with the global energy transition. Amid growing demand for critical minerals, climate change, and decarbonization, Chile faces both opportunities and socio-environmental risks. Addressing these challenges requires integrated sustainability strategies and an active state role to ensure inclusive, environmentally responsible, and innovation-driven mining development.