Chile environmental agency to start implementing Escazú Agreement

Chile's environmental review agency SEA will begin implementing the Escazú Agreement with a focus on strengthening access to information and citizen participation in its projects review process.

The regional environmental treaty was adopted in Costa Rica in 2018, and signed by Chile in 2022 after strong support in congress for joining.

Among the challenges that SEA faces are distinguishing the commitments that owners make when submitting projects, promoting an easy-to-understand language and modernizing its digital platform, said Paul Lorca, a climate change specialist at the agency, during an online workshop held on Tuesday.

The Escazú Agreement is the first environmental treaty at the regional level that establishes rights and obligations for the signatories, based on four pillars: access to information, public participation in the environmental decision processes, environmental justice and defense of human rights in environment matters, and the strengthening of knowledge and cooperation.

"SEA has begun the process to implement the new administrative and operational measures," said Lorca.

The national plan was approved at the third conference of the parties to the Escazú Agreement, hosted by the UN's Eclac in Chilean capital Santiago last month. It includes 56 actions and 236 measures to be implemented before 2030, mainly targeting public organizations.

The plan is available in the Documents box in the top right corner.

SEA's roadmap looks to deal with the triple planetary crisis, made up of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, said Lorca, adding that greater transparency and reduced technical language in the agency's processes are key objectives.

Although SEA has citizen participation processes in place, the focus will now be on enhancing this participation in the project review processes to improve the warning system in the case of negative impacts and to "eliminate barriers to carrying out mediation, conciliation or preventing disputes during [project] development." he said.

With this approach, "it will be key to prevent, investigate and punish attacks, threats or intimidation against human rights defenders," Lorca highlighted.

The Chilean environmental institutions, made up of SEA and the area's ministry, regulator and courts, have different tools that will be the starting point for the challenges of implementing the treaty.

Through several laws, “we have created guides and technical documents, we have an email for comments [comentarios.documentos@sea.gob.cl], we have geographic information with interactive maps for those who participate in the evaluation, we have a public registry of consultants for the processing of certifications, and we train public officials, project owners, consultants and the general public,” said Lorca.

The national plan also contains measures for the ministries of mining, agriculture and public works. “Everything has to be linked so that society grows sustainably, which is the main goal,” he said.