For an ecological Constitution that protects us from the climate crisis and the market

An ecosystem is a concept that comes from ecology, and can be defined as that system constituted by communities of living beings that interact with the natural environment in which they live. This concept that appeared in the 30’s has transmuted to be used in the business area of different productive sectors, creating terms such as digital ecosystem, financial ecosystem, market ecosystem, economic ecosystem, innovation ecosystem, etc. However, several of the productive sectors have little interest in ecology, and it is reflected in the resistance to modernize their productive practices and in the little concern for the health of living beings and territories. All this is allowed in the framework created by the current Constitution (1980), an instrument that values private property above all things, that allows water to be separated from land and that concentrates water rights in a small group of people, which has created sacrifice zones, dormant areas (1) and saturated (2), polluting soil, air, water, threatened ecosystems and biodiversity. It is enough to review some figures to appreciate how the Constitution (1980) has privileged the market and productive sectors to the detriment of the environment.
Between 2020 and 2022, socio-environmental conflicts in Chile have increased from 118 to 129. Currently, 44 per cent of these conflicts are affecting water, 35 per cent are in indigenous territory and 31 per cent affect biodiversity. In addition, 85% of these conflicts violate the right to live in an environment free of pollution, 31% of them the right to territory and natural resources, and 28% directly affect people with poverty levels in the third quintile (3). 12% of annual deaths in Chile are due to modifiable environmental factors, where 60% of the population is exposed to concentrations of particulate matter higher than allowed by environmental regulation, causing about 3,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths each year. Faced with this situation, specialists from the Transdisciplinary Program in the Environment (PROMA) University of Chile, highlight the urgency of taking measures to promote intersectoral action and create healthier environments that improve the quality of life in a sustainable way (4).
With regard to water, 53% of the country’s communes have been declared in drought. Among the main problems related to water resources, 44 per cent are due to failures in water management and governance; 17% is caused by the growth of productive activities and the over-granting of water use rights; 14% due to water pollution, such as the use of chemicals in agribusiness. Eminently natural causes, such as the decrease in water and snow precipitation, and the melting of snow and retreat of glaciers due to increased temperatures, appear only in a fourth place, with 12% (5). It should be noted that women are the most affected in access to and ownership of water, having 24% of water rights. This accounts for the vulnerability of women, especially in rural areas, to extreme events, such as droughts, generated by climate change, natural or anthropogenic disasters (6).
In the period 2000-2016 it has lost 206,142 hectares of native forest (7). Another study indicates that in the period 1985-2018 there have been 22 mega-fires, which have affected an approximate area of 200,910 hectares of native forests and thickets (8), while 55% of the country’s ecosystems are threatened, highlighting that the forests of tamarugos, carob trees and cactus covers are in critical danger (9). In Chile there are 823 native species that are critically endangered (146), endangered (395) and vulnerable (282). This implies that they are likely to become extinct in less than 100 years, with amphibians, reptiles and mammals having the highest proportion of threatened species (10).
With the new Constitution (2022) a different possibility of development opens, where the State assumes duties of protection and conservation of the environment, aiming at economic growth that is harmonious with nature, and implementing a new paradigm: conserve to be able to continue producing. First, it is recognized that nature has rights, and that the State and society have the duty tootegerlos and respect them. The State must adopt an ecologically responsible administration and promote environmental and scientific education through lifelong learning and training processes (Art 127°). People and peoples are interdependent with nature and form with it an inseparable whole. The State recognizes and promotes good living as a relationship of harmonious balance between people, nature and the organization of society (Art 8°) (11).
It is the duty of the State to adopt actions to prevent, adapt and mitigate the risks, vulnerabilities and effects caused by the climate and ecological crisis, as well as to promote dialogue, cooperation and international solidarity to adapt, mitigate and face the climate and ecological crisis and protect nature (Art 129°). The law may establish restrictions on the exercise of certain rights to protect the environment and nature (Art 106°); The State protects biodiversity, and must preserve, conserve and restore the habitat of wild native species in the appropriate quantity and distribution to sustain the viability of their populations and ensure the conditions for their survival and non-extinction (Art 130°); The State shall protect the ecological and social function of the land (Art 108); and, it is the duty of the State, within the scope of its financial competences, to establish a permanent policy of sustainable development and harmonious with nature (Art 184°).
The proposal for a new Constitution for Chile has had the public support of academics (200) and representatives of environmental organizations (40) from around the world, highlighting that it is the first Constitution in the world to recognize the climate and ecological crisis, establishing as an obligation for the State to adopt an ecologically responsible administration, and prevention measures, adaptation and mitigation of the risks generated by this crisis. In addition, they point out that the constitutional project establishes a robust internal regulatory structure, and that it enhances international cooperation to face climate change and the degradation of biodiversity. These are essential issues for establishing regional and global guidelines in the context of the climate crisis (12).

The new Constitution aligns with current climate and ecological challenges, aiming to seriously address the climate crisis to protect the population from its consequences. It is important to reflect that this challenge is not delegated as the exclusive responsibility of environmental institutions, but of the whole country, making all the institutions and productive sectors responsible for this task. Communicationally there is a campaign of terror so that the model does not change, but if nothing changes, the population will be condemned to devastating socio-environmental scenarios, especially the most vulnerable people. It is risky and irresponsible to speak only of sustained economic growth when there are frequent scenarios of droughts, forest fires, loss of ecosystems and pandemics, among others. The current Constitution (1980) has made it clear that it sacrifices the environment for capital, cruelly forcing people to assume that in order to eat they must get sick and abandon the desire to live in a healthy environment, being that those who pollute it live in the most affluent sectors of Chile. There are very few days left to be informed, and on the Internet circulates a lot of information that can overwhelm (due to its complexity or veracity, too many fake news), but the moment that Chile is experiencing merits making the effort. The Approval provides the possibility of having greater protection against the climate crisis and the business market, which is currently regulated as it wants regardless of whether it destroys people and territories.
1. According to Law No. 19,300, it is the one in which the measurement of the concentration of pollutants in the air, water or soil is between 80% and 100% of the value of the respective environmental quality standard.
2.According to Law No. 19,300, it is the one in which one or more environmental quality standards are exceeded.
3.INDH, 2022. Map of Socio-Environmental Conflicts in Chile. Available in: https://mapaconflictos.indh.cl/#/
4.UCH, 2021. U. of Chile specialists warn about the dangers of air pollution in health. Available in: https://www.uchile.cl/noticias/176877/especialistas-uch-alertan-los-peligros-de-la-contaminacion-atmosferica#:~:text=En%20Chile%20cerca%20del%2060,causando%204.500%20muertes%20cada%20a%C3%B1o.
5.UCH, 2022. Chile is leading the water crisis in Latin America. Available in: https://www.uchile.cl/noticias/184816/dia-mundial-del-agua-chile-lidera-la-crisis-hidrica-en-america-latina
6.REMA, 2021. Genderro and Environment. Available in: https://sinia.mma.gob.cl/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/REMA2021.pdf
7.La Third, 2022. Study reveals that in 16 years Chile reduced its native forest by almost four times the surface of Greater Santiago. Available in: https://www.latercera.com/que-pasa/noticia/estudio-revela-que-en-seis-anos-chile-redujo-su-bosque-nativo-en-casi-cuatro-veces-la-superficie-del-gran-santiago/OXQRPW7TKNCHJH6NP2QBZE5AXA/?fbclid=IwAR1DW5v1TQ77ng3vgiUnyWj-Is2O9OAVHrISaOeL4UxyfBPITUpZnnOV34k
8.CR2, 2020. Forest fires in Chile: causes, impacts and resilience. Center for Climate Science and Resilience (CR)2, Universidad de Chile, Universidad de Concepción and Universidad Austral de Chile. Available in: https://www.cr2.cl/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Informe-CR2-IncendiosforestalesenChile.pdf
9.La Third, 2014. Study reveals that 55% of ecosystems in Chile are threatened. Available in: https://www.latercera.com/noticia/estudio-revela-que-el-55-de-los-ecosistemas-en-chile-esta-amenazado/
10.REMA, 2021. Biodiversity. Available in: https://sinia.mma.gob.cl/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/REMA2021.pdf
11.BCN, 2022. Comparator of Constitutional Texts. Constitution 2022. Available in: https://www.bcn.cl/comparador/
12.Diario UCH, 2022. Academics and representatives of environmental organizations around the world support Chile’s constitutional project. Available in: https://radio.uchile.cl/2022/08/16/academicos-y-representantes-de-organizaciones-ambientales-de-todo-el-mundo-apoyan-proyecto-constitucional-de-chile/

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Original source in Spanish

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