Continuing with the blocks of the international seminar held between December 10 and 11, 2020, this time we tell you about the third part of this day which is entitled “Regulations and institutionality on the Chilean coast.” On this occasion, the topic to be addressed is about the regulations surrounding our coasts, as the aforementioned title mentions well.

Among the guests and participants we have the Comptroller of the Republic, Mr. Jorge Bermúdez, Senator Ximena Órdenes and Senator Alfonso de Urresti at the beginning of the activity and words of welcome. Entities and political actors committed to working around the coasts and a new regulation that involves social sustainability.

The initial reflections and that linked to the topic to be addressed in the session, tell of the importance of governance and the relationship with the comptroller of the republic

Chile has a marked coastal character, with a wealth and diversity of coastal marine heritage. However, currently the regulations do not reflect an optimal safeguard. There is a fragmented law, with different normative bodies and, on the other hand, a great antiquity.

The regulation of the use of the coastline dates back to the early 1960s, and is not adapted to the current context, where it was thought that the coast was infinite, for example.

The panorama from the legislative point of view has had difficulties to address the coastal zone and it is what is urgent today in normative matters. The multiple interests that converge in this space, from the cultural, patrimonial and even interests that affect its operation such as economic, real estate and even strategic, make it quite complex to regulate it adequately and integrally.

A more integrated management, management and governance is what the Chilean coast needs. The solutions visible to the opinion of experts are hand in hand with a renewed regulation and a more modern institutional framework, where coastal legislation should respond to certain principles, mainly linked to sustainability, environmental protection and justice, participation around the decision making, etc.

The main difficulty of managing the use of the coasts is the meeting of multiple interests, both public and private, where a spatial, temporal and dynamic understanding is needed is unique. The challenge is to integrate your legislation and preserve your heritage

Consequently, the topics presented in this conference highlight the main scope and challenges for a new governance of our coasts.

In this way, the presentations began in the following order: first, with the Keynote talk given by Dr. Ángel Menéndez Rexach , who serves as Emeritus Professor of Administrative Law at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. He has a law degree from the Complutense University of Madrid and a PhD from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He is currently a civil servant in the superior body of civil administrators of the state. His approach is based mainly on using the Spanish case as an example regarding its legislation, emphasizing that each country has its idiosyncrasies, its principles and its objectives.

In the second instance, it exposed Claudia silva , National coordinator of the Ministry of the Environment , on the GEF Coastal Wetlands project in south central Chile, an initiative led by MMA, implemented by UN Environment and funded by GEF (Global Environment Facility). The purpose of this project is to contribute to the ecological condition through the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems in the south central zone of the country, with challenges in terms of governance, such as: influencing regulatory frameworks, raising political awareness and strengthening coordination interinstitutional.

The lawyer, María Susana Belmar, Head of the Department of Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of National Defense , who spoke on “administrative aspects of the coastline”.

Subsequently, Juan José Donoso, head of the Natural Resources and Biodiversity Division of the Ministry of the Environment , addressing the topic “progress and challenges in the management and conservation of coastal ecosystems”, focusing on their social and environmental importance.

Finally, the round table titled “Regulations and institutions on the Chilean coast: scope and challenges for a new governance”, where Dr. Kay Bergamini, from the UC Institute of Urban and Territorial Studies, Jessica Fuentes, Sernapesca deputy legal director, and lawyer Rocío Parra-Cortés, from the Center for the Law of the Sea of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso participated.

We invite you to continue viewing the capsules of this important international seminar on new coastal governance.

Do not miss it!