The activity was attended by various authorities, led by the Minister of the Environment, María Heloísa Rojas Corradi.
With the purpose of generating an instance of conversation regarding the environmental challenges around water, mining and agriculture in the region and the country, the Seminar: Water, Mining and Agriculture was held at the Guayacán Campus of the Universidad Católica del Norte: How to Face Environmental Challenges?, which had the participation of various national and regional authorities, headed by the Minister of the Environment, María Heloisa Rojas Corradi and the President of the Senate Environment Commission, Senator Sergio Gahona Salazar.
The activity analyzed one of the main concerns that affect a large part of the national territory, and in particular the Coquimbo Region, where reservoirs reach only 5% of their capacity. According to information from the Northern Agricultural Society (SAN), the Coquimbo Region currently has 6% reservoir capacity. In the Province of Limarí, the Cogotí reservoir -located in the commune of Combarbalá-, is at 0% and La Paloma, the largest in South America, is at 3%; while in the Elqui Province the Puclaro reservoir is at 4% and in the Choapa Province, the El Bato reservoir has 30.6% capacity, and Corrales 45.2%.
The Minister of the Environment, María Heloísa Rojas Corradi, valued this event, and said that, “I appreciate the invitation to this event in which we have been able to discuss and reflect on the challenges and opportunities that sustainable development gives us. As a planet and country we face a triple crisis of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution, so in this scenario the decisions we make must put people and the care of our environment at the center.”
Meanwhile, Senator Sergio Gahona appreciated that the university is linked to issues that are important to citizens. “Today we came to discuss how to continue producing agriculture and mining in our context of water scarcity, in such a way that we can have sustainable development, with environmental protection and guaranteeing the development of people. The university does very well by putting these issues on the table,” said the Senator. Furthermore, he said, it is important to bring the Senate closer to the citizens, even more so when it comes to legislation that has to do with environmental protection.
While the Vice-Rector of the Coquimbo Campus of the UCN, Dr. Elvira Badilla Poblete highlighted that “we are experiencing the problems of climate change, in our particular case faced with an extensive drought and it is up to us, from the role we fulfill in the community, to become charge of this problem. As a University, we generate spaces like this, to make it visible, discuss it and look for innovative solutions by listening and working with the different groups involved.”
It should be noted that the activity is carried out in the context of updating the Strategic Development Plan of the UCN led by the Vice-Rector’s Office for Strategic Development and Quality, where by virtue of the survey of requirements of the territory with meetings with more than 100 leaders from different areas of the regions of Coquimbo and Antofagasta, the need was recognized for the UCN to be an articulating entity between civil society, the public and private sectors, leading proposals for solutions to the problems of the territory, including the associated environmental problems and the climate change.
EXHIBITIONS
The Seminar featured the presentations “Environmental situation in Chile: challenges and opportunities”, by the Minister of the Environment, Maisa Rojas Corradi; “Legislative changes for the adequate relationship between the environment and the national productive area: Environmental institutions and improvement in their efficiency”, dictated by Senator Sergio Gahona, President of the Senate Environment Commission; “Challenges of mining in the 21st century: Responsible development”, dictated by Joaquín Villarino Herrera, President of the Mining Council; “Environmental Challenges in Agriculture”, by Daniela Norambuena Borgheresi, General Manager of the Northern Agricultural Society; “Challenges to guarantee human access to drinking water in the context of water scarcity” given by José Luis Murillo Collado, General Manager of Esval and Aguas del Valle.
The General Manager of Sociedad Agrícola del Norte, Daniela Norambuena Borgheresi, highlighted that for the agricultural sector it is very important to be able to talk about all the challenges of climate change, which are coming to be strongly established in our region. Furthermore, she highlighted, “I believe that this panel led by the UCN is essential to achieve the necessary conversations and balanced agreements from the government, parliament and also civil organizations, such as the unions, who contribute to regional productivity.” .
For the President of the Mining Council, Joaquín Villarino Herrera, “these are central issues for the country, the region and the development that we want to implement. I think that the topic that the seminar called for is extremely relevant, a central concern of the government, but also of private companies and it is very important to have conversations of this type.”
Meanwhile, the General Manager of Esval and Aguas del Valle, José Luis Murillo emphasized that “access to water is a human right and we have to ensure it. Having a seminar of this style where we bring together all the actors that have an important influence on water is super relevant. There are no individual solutions, they are joint solutions.”
