Gestión del agua de mina: Estudio de casos de Mongolia y Chile

The report advocates for watershed-scale water governance to balance the needs of the mining sector with those of other users and ecosystems. It details a framework based on risk planning, stakeholder collaboration, and continuous monitoring. In Mongolia, the focus is on integrating surface and groundwater management, particularly in the Gobi desert where mining demands may exceed supply by 2021. In Antofagasta, Chile, the study highlights the use of strategic regional plans and cost-benefit analyses for the Loa River basin, while noting the challenge of water rights assigned without expiration dates.

• Effective water governance in mining requires a holistic approach at the watershed scale to balance industrial needs with those of vulnerable users and ecosystems, especially as climate change increases precipitation variability and extreme events.
• A robust management system must transition from data collection to policy through a risk-based approach that incorporates climate change scenarios and sensitivity analysis to ensure sustainability.
• Mongolia's Integrated Water Management Plan (IWMP) from 2013 categorizes the territory into three management zones based on water type: surface water, combined surface and groundwater, and groundwater-dominated areas.
• In the Gobi desert of Mongolia, groundwater is a non-renewable fossil resource, and it is projected that mining demand will exceed supply by 2021, creating potential for conflict with herders and local communities.
• The Antofagasta region in Chile manages 10 watersheds across 127,221 km2, utilizing a strategic plan updated in 2016 that incorporates citizen consultation and aligns with national water strategies.
• A significant governance challenge in Chile is that water was historically assigned as rights without expiration dates rather than as licenses, limiting the government's ability to manage the resource effectively.
• In the Loa River basin of Antofagasta, mining accounts for 60% of the water demand, necessitating complex cost-benefit analyses to evaluate alternatives like desalination plants versus river water use.
• The document identifies an emerging legal trend of granting rights to nature, citing examples in Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, India, and New Zealand, which allows rivers to litigate for pollution or misuse.

APA

Hill, J., & Gillman, M. (2021). Gestión del agua de mina: Estudio de casos de Mongolia y Chile. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/igf-case-study-mine-water-management-chile-mongolia-es.pdf

Chicago

Hill, Jenifer, and Matthew Gillman. Gestión del agua de mina: Estudio de casos de Mongolia y Chile. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/igf-case-study-mine-water-management-chile-mongolia-es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hill |first1=Jenifer |last2=Gillman |first2=Matthew |title=Gestión del agua de mina: Estudio de casos de Mongolia y Chile |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/igf-case-study-mine-water-management-chile-mongolia-es.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hill2021gestin, author = {Hill, Jenifer and Gillman, Matthew}, title = {{Gestión del agua de mina: Estudio de casos de Mongolia y Chile}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/igf-case-study-mine-water-management-chile-mongolia-es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }