Presentation of the book Water Policy in Chile

What is it about?

This chapter introduces the subjects analyzed and presented in the book Water Policy in Chile. The first section sets the context by offering a detailed examination of the main sources of Chile’s water, its principle consumers, the gap between supply and demand, hydrological droughts, decreasing water quality, deterioration of aquatic ecosystems, and future projected impacts of climate change. The interrelation between the country’s socio-economic context and water consumption is also analyzed. The second section describes, analyzes and evaluates the performance of water policies, laws and institutions, identifies the main challenges that Chile needs to face and derives lessons learnt from Chile’s reform experience. Expert contributors discuss such topics as Chile’s water policy, the reasoning which explains its policy reform, and presents the performance evaluation of the legal and institutional framework of water resources. Water challenges faced by different users such as urban and rural water, agriculture and mining are presented in the third section. The final section presents a global assessment of Chile’s water policy and its challenges to face increasing water scarcity. This section draws from the significant analysis and perspectives offered by all contributors.

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Why is it important?

This book deals with water policy in Chile. It offers a detailed examination of the main sources of Chile’s water, its principle consumers, the gap between supply and demand, hydrological droughts, and future projected impacts of climate change. It describes, analyzes and evaluates the performance of water policies, laws and institutions, identifies the main challenges that Chile needs to face and derives lessons learnt from Chile’s reform experience.