In the context of the Water Congress 2024, the SMI-ICE-Chile post-doctoral researcher was consulted by this media specialized in mining and energy, about water management in the communities of northern Chile.
Dante referred to the challenges faced by the northern area of Chile in a context of great water stress, a product of climate change and different productive activities. «The first thing – he stressed – that we must be clear about is that there is an increase in the demand for water in the north of Chile, which is due to the requirements of the cities themselves and also of productive activity, mainly mining.»
Regarding how to address this problem, Dante Choque highlighted favorably the mining activity that is already using other sources of non-continental waters, in this case oceanic sources. “And this reduces the existing water stress in northern Chile,” he said.
This is a relevant change, Dante explained, because the mining industry occupies water sources that are within the rural territory, and this sometimes affects rural peasant communities that practice agriculture, as well as rural indigenous communities that inhabit these territories. .
The postdoctoral researcher from SMI-ICE-Chile referred to the importance of many national productive companies being supported to implement these changes in water use.
He also explained that each salt flat and each basin in northern Chile has its own requirements and communities, which determine different governance needs. So, these different actors must sit down and talk to find a common vision and move forward with governance that interprets them all. “There is a long road of conversations and agreements,” he pointed out.
Dante Choque is an indigenous Aymara, commercial engineer, master in Management for Globalization and PhD from the University of Sydney, Australia. He is also a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Studies (CIIR). With more than 10 years of experience in research and consulting with indigenous peoples, he has integrated various multidisciplinary teams that link the indigenous peoples of northern Chile with strategic planning, sustainable development, rural habitability, transition to urbanity. Lately he has focused his work on understanding mining regions and Indigenous Peoples.
Watch the interview here
