Water becomes the "liquid gold" of the 21st century: The lack of the vital element spreads throughout the world, including our country
The drought that has affected the northern area of Chile for five years has advanced towards the south, which implies not only a problem regarding food, but can affect other systems such as electricity and the economy in general.
The problem caused by the drought has been highlighted by various sectors, ranging from experts in the field to social movements that are affected by the lack of water in the country.
Although the Government has presented some ideas to alleviate the problem, they are insufficient, since the lack of vital resources has reached the south of the country, where there is supposed to be a greater presence of rains, so this problem is not as serious as in the rest of the territory.
The consequences of this lack have affected both society and production. That is why the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Furche, decreed as an agricultural emergency zone 19 communes of the Los Lagos region, which means that there are currently 114 localities throughout the country in the same situation.
The economy is also adversely affected by the drought, since water shortages have triggered the lack of food for livestock, which lowers the production of milk and meat, one of the most consumed foods. This is not to mention the health problems that the situation entails, since there are many families that obtain water through lorry trucks.
What causes the problem?
One of the explanations about why the drought occurred is climate change, which has affected the rains. Another reason is of the legal type, since the water code allows the exploitation rights to be delivered to private companies free of charge and perpetually. A third idea is that this is due to poor territorial management in the center and south of the country.
When this problem appears, the Water General Directorate (DGA) updated the drought decree, which was from year 1984 and the modification was made in 2012 product of climate change and because with the new technology you can use different indicators that provide some data that let you know if you are in a drought or not somewhere.
Apparently one of the solutions for this problem is to make the population aware of the importance of water and thus achieve a strengthening of the use of this resource.
Asked about these issues, the president of Modema (Environmental Defense Movement), Andrés Álvarez, stated «the problem of lack of water is bigger than one imagines, because it is a slow, but progressive catastrophe, which day by day is leaving more affected«.
Regarding what could be the causes of this drought that has been present in the country for five years, Álvarez expressed «One thing is the lack of rain, caused by global warming, and another thing is the over exploitation of resources. In addition, when there is a Water Code that is permissive with the sale and transaction of water one encounters this drought and the catastrophe is expressed in a greater way than it should naturally«.
Regarding the impact that this situation produces, the president of Modema said that "It has an economic impact on communities and families in Chile, because with a drought issue as severe as the one we have in the country, the agri-food products that come from these sectors of the country and reach the basic basket, increase its price. It is an issue that goes hand in hand with the economy and when there are miserable salaries in the large part of the citizenship, people simply do not bring fruits and vegetables and that also means a health problem due to a bad diet«.
Regarding whether there is something that can be done to find a solution to this problem, Álvarez explained «I believe that the State has the solution to the problem. In the subject of water resources the great absentee is the State, because he has not worked public policies that will deliver a solution to the water issue in the short, medium or long term. Based on the Water Code, which is not well regulated so that industrial projects do not occupy the waters of the basins and beds, but it is determined that these must be supplied with desalinated water«.
The professor of the School of Civil Works and the Energy Center of the UDP, Hernán Alcayaga, also referred to this, who stated that the main problems that this situation brings is that «This first affects the distribution of drinking water, which is essential for the life and work of the inhabitants, then to agri-food production and also to natural resources, because if we do not have water in the natural channels, it is difficult for environmental systems to go to maintain, in addition, the productive systems will be affected, since they need water for certain processes«.
«There is an issue that is not minor that has to do with the fact that the 45 percent of the country's energy matrix is hydroelectric, so if we do not have water to produce electricity we do not have energy and without this the industry will also be affected«added the UDP professor.
Regarding the systems that exist and that could help alleviate the situation, Alcayaga expressed "the use of desalinated water is an option, but there is also a solution that are the'trappers' of clouds that condense the steam from the ocean and capture water there«.
Source: Cambio21
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