Argentina's 2010 Glacier Protection Law (Law No. 26,639) established minimum safeguards for glaciers as strategic freshwater reserves and prohibited mining, industrial and construction activities in glacier environments. On 8 April, Congress approved reforms that remove those protections and transfer decision-making over watercourses to provincial governments.
Civil society organisations led by Greenpeace, the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers and the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation filed a collective amparo. They ask the courts to declare the reform unconstitutional and to restore the previous safeguards. Lawyers say the change breaks the regulatory framework and removes minimum protections, and that provincial decisions may rely on studies lacking rigour.
Some provinces, including La Pampa, filed similar legal measures. La Pampa has no glaciers but depends on rivers fed by Andes glaciers; the province relies heavily on the Colorado River for drinking water.
Difficult words
- glacier — Large mass of ice on landglaciers
- safeguard — Measure that protects something from harmsafeguards
- freshwater — Water with low salt for drinking and use
- prohibit — To officially stop an action or activityprohibited
- transfer — To move control or responsibility to someone else
- provincial — Related to a province or local government
- unconstitutional — Not allowed by a country's constitution or law
- regulatory — Relating to official rules or control
- rigour — Careful and exact methods or standards
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Discussion questions
- Should provincial governments make decisions about rivers and glaciers? Why or why not?
- What problems could happen if provincial decisions rely on studies lacking rigour?
- How important are glaciers as freshwater reserves in your country or region?
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