MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean Congress votes to create an Environmental Ministry

The initiative has proved controversial both for supporters and opponents

Chile’s Senate voted early this week to create an Environmental Ministry, a milestone in Chilean environmental policy. The bill, first introduced in 2008, has been subject to considerable controversy from both supporters and opponents.

The Chamber of Deputies approved the legislation in May, but the bill was substantially altered since then.

The new ministry will include the Superintendent of Environmental Regulations – a department which will assume the responsibility of environmental monitoring and which will assure proper enforcement of environmental regulations. The ministry will also include an Environmental Evaluation Service responsible for carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment studies. The final bill will be presented again to Parliament for the revision of the modifications made by the Senate.

The Senate also approved the creation of an environmental court that will review decisions adopted by the Superintendent. The court will be made up of members with science, economics and law backgrounds and will deal exclusively with environmental issues. The court will also deal with complaints made by project leaders, citizens and companies on issues that have an environmental impact.

“The court can be accessed not only by regulators, but also by those who are affected by environmental problems. It aims to protect everyone, from citizens to investors,” said Anna Lya Uriarte, president and minister at the Environmental National Commission (CONAMA) – an agency whose mission is to promote environmental protection by setting up and enforcing the government’s environmental policies.

“Environmental issues can no longer be left out of the debate on important decisions made by the country“, Uriarte said.

“This [the environmental ministry] is Chile’s most significant environmental advancement.”

Environmentalists and MP’s have criticized the bill for leaving out essential environmental measures.

By Gida Homad-Hamam - Santiago Times