Argentina has given the green light to the reform of the law on glaciers, a measure wanted by the ultra-liberal president Javier Mileiwhich has practically authorized mining activity in ecologically sensitive areas, just as glaciers or permafrost are.
With 137 votes in favor, 111 against and three abstentions, the Chamber of Deputies approved the amendment that modifies the law already passed by the Senate last February, a reform that paves the way for the extraction of strategic metals such as copper, lithium and silver in the most delicate areas of the Andes, where the glaciers, fundamental for water supply, are increasingly threatened by climate change and industrial activities.
A path which, obviously, has aroused strong reactions among environmentalists, who denounce the risk of compromising the country’s precious water resources. Hence a series of massive protests in front of the Buenos Aires Parliament. “Water is more precious than gold!” and “A destroyed glacier cannot be restored!” were the main slogans. A protest marked, however, by clashes with the police, who arrested some Greenpeace activists.
For his part, Milei continues to justify the reform as a necessary step to attract investments in the mining sector and strengthen the economy, especially in a country rich in lithium, a fundamental element for the technological industry and renewable energy. He did not even hesitate to respond to environmentalists, accusing them of preferring Argentina to remain “in poverty” rather than allow the exploitation of its natural resources.
In any case, it goes without saying that the amendment to the glacier law has been greeted with concern by experts, who see in this reform a danger for the conservation of water resources, on which 70% of Argentines depend. The new legislation gives individual provinces greater autonomy in the management of protected areas, and allows them to establish which areas can be exploited for economic and mining purposes.
The president of the Environmental Lawyers Association of Argentina, Enrique Viale, underlined that this modification threatens the country’s water security, compromising fundamental resources for future generations. Not only that: the glaciers, which have already seen a 17% reduction in their surface area due to climate change in the last ten years, are now further threatened by the expansion of mining activities. What is worrying is not only the extraction itself, but also the long-term implications for biodiversity and the landscape, already heavily stressed by pollution and growing water scarcity.
Despite strong opposition, the law has found broad support among the governors of northern provinces, where the mining sector is particularly developed, such as Mendoza, San Juan, Catamarca and Salta, who see the extractive industry as a way to encourage economic development.
