Environmental Policies !

Hi guys! Today I'm going to talk about environmental policies in Chile and around the world.

Modern environmental policies began in the 1960’s. The breakthrough was generated by Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, published in 1962 and dealing with the negative effect that the DDT (a pesticide) had on the ecosystems and life quality in the USA. The book had a major impact on the perception people and the government had on the caring of the environment, and was a best seller.

Then, in December 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), created by the Nixon administration, began its functions. Its objective was to protect “human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress”. It has created air pollution regulation laws, water control laws, endangered species protection acts and many other policies oriented towards protecting the wilderness and life quality of the American people.

In Chile, during the Military Dictatorship, all the previous environmental laws were abolished, and the exportation culture of eucalyptus and pines was favored, destroying vast tracts of native forest and polluting the environment. Then, after the return to democracy in 1990, the Comisión Nacional del Medio Ambiente (CONAMA) was created with the objective of overseeing the studying and evaluation of all the necessary measures to protect and conserve the national environment.

                                                           

Between 1990 and 2010, the Fishing Law (Ley de Pesca) and Forestal Law (Ley Forestal) were created to regulate the explotation and marketing of those national resources. In 2010, by a presidential decree, the Ministry of Environment (Ministerio de Medio Ambiente) was created, replacing the CONAMA.

                                                                                                                                      

Today, the MMA is busy modernizing the national environmental policies and sending public messages about the dangers of global warming and pollution. However, in my opinion, there’s a lack of information and public participation, and there’s still a lot to do in the matter.

  

I hope all of you enjoyed my post! See you soon!