A presentation designed for the Chile Summer Study Program by Monash University. The subject of this presentation was to give an overall view toward environmental challenges of Chile and Latin America and coming up with solutions to face them.

1. Environmental Issues
in Chile and LatAm
(Group 4)
SUZANNA ANDERSON
JUNFENG DENG
ROHAM HOSSEINI
KARTHIK SHIVAPPA
JOHN WILSON
SU LI YEOH
1

2. Introduction
o Description of current reality
o Overview of environmental issues in Chile
o Environmental indicators
o Current regulatory requirements
o Comparisons with regional neighbours
o The challenges ahead
o Our opinions and suggestions for Chile
2

3. Current Reality
Air Pollution
Water
Pollution
Earthquake
Climate
Change
Deforestation
Environmental
Issues
3

4. Description of current reality
Raw sewage, urban runoff,
mining activity, etc.
Population growth,
agricultural expansion, wood
harvesting for fuel and
export, etc.
Mining Industry, vehicle
emissions, wood burning, etc.
Water pollution
Air Pollution
Deforestation
Degradation of air quality and
Health impact
Threaten people and animal’s
lives, climate changes
Decreased availability of
water and Health problem
Causes Environmental Issues Results
4

5. Air Pollution
5

6. Particulate Matter Formation
PM2.5 = 29μg/m3
Images extracted from: http://www.mma.gob.cl/1304/articles-52016_Chapter_1.pdf
6

7. Source: (WHO, 2006)
7

8. Particulate Matter Formation
PM2.5 = 29μg/m3
Images extracted from: http://www.mma.gob.cl/1304/articles-52016_Chapter_1.pdf
8

9. Health Impacts:
o Cardiopulmonary and respiratory
diseases.
o Lung cancer
o Premature deaths
Knock on effect:
o Labour productivity losses
o Economic value of a hospital
admission (”direct costs” associated
with healthcare costs, expenditures
in medicines and medical supplies
The Cost of Air Pollution
9

10. The Cost of Air Pollution
$670 million to health sector
127,000 emergency health consultations
> 4000 premature deaths
10

11. Environmental
Regulations
and Politics
• Chile’s environmental laws are market-enabling
• Regulations for air pollution
• Key elements of regulatory system
• Voluntary compliance agreements
• Recent regulations
• Paris Climate Change Agreement
11

12. Comparison with neighbours
29
48
20
24
16
Santiago Lima Mexico City Bogota Rio De Janiero
PM2.5 annual mean, micrograms per cubic metre
Data Extracted from (WHO, 2016)
12

13. Environmental
Challenges for
Chile and LatAm
13

14. Regional
Environmental
Challenges
Climate Change Air Pollution Water supply
Deforestation – Role
of Governments or
Role of Corporations
Mining Problems
Rising Sea
Temperature
Natural Disasters
Environmental
Governance
Education for
Sustainable
Development
Renewable Energy
14

15. Air Pollution
Economic Impacts
Health Impacts
Welfare Impacts
Image extracted from (Sadurni, 2012)
15
Vallero (2008):

16. Climate Change
$100 Billion Cost (UN
ENVIRONMENT, 2018)
Cities at the coast line
(World Bank, 2013)
The Common Understanding
(Targeted News Service, 2011)
Image extracted from (Al Jazeera, 2018)
16

17. Environmental challenges for Mining In Chile
17
• Copper mining emissions and
fallout
• Dust generated at mines.
• Copper smelting emissions and
by-products
• Potential severe environmental
damage
• Health effects on surrounding
communities
Graph extracted from: (COCHILCO, 2003)

18. Related Challenges
• Water pollution and availability of fresh water
• Desalination and recycling water
• Keeping pollutants from copper mining out of
new water sources
• Local communities and viability of other
industries
• Strengthening environmental requirements
may negatively impact industry.
18

19. Opinions
and
Solutions
19

20. SMOG Eating
Building
20
(Willmott, 2015)

21. Sustainable Mines
• environmental standards for new
mines need to be established,
monitored closely and enforced
• production techniques should be
modernised to improve efficiency
and reduce waste
• maximise the recovery of dust and
sludge
• slag by-products should be securely
landfilled or granulated and sold
• use renewable energy sources and
cleaner sources of baseload power

22. Renewable Energy
22

23. Environmental
Taxes
23

24. Climate
Change
Adaption
Policies
24

25. Bibliography
Airnow. (2017, January 31). Particle Pollution (PM). Retrieved from https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.particle
Andrade, P. A. (2016). The Government of Nature: Post-Neoliberal Environmental Governance in Bolivia and Ecuador. Environmental Governance in Latin
America, 113-136. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-50572-9_5
AtKearney, Hofsteenge, P., Livitsanis, C., Munn, G., Plaizier, W., & Sprott, M. (n.d.). Mining Takes on the Sustainability Challenge. Retrieved January 19,
2018, from https://www.atkearney.com/metals-mining/article?%2Fa%2Fmining-takes-on-the-sustainability-challenge
Baral, S. (2016, April 22). Earth Day 2016: Find Out What Environmental Problems 20 Latin American Countries Face. Retrieved January 16, 2018, from
http://www.latintimes.com/earth-day-2016-find-out-what-environmental-problems-20-latin-american-countries-face-163309
Blackman, A. (2010). ‘Alternative pollution control policies in developing countries.’ Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 4(2), 234–253.
Retrieved 11 January 2018 from: https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/req005
Brenes, Esteban R., Haar, Jerry, & Requena, Bernardo. (2009). Latin America: Environmental and firm-level challenges.(Report). Journal of Business
Research, 62(9), 849-853.
Gouveia, N., & Junger, W.L. (2018). Effects of air pollution on infant and children respiratory mortality in four large Latin-American cities. Environmental
Pollution, 232, 385-391
Merino, L. (2016). Rights, Pressures and Conservation in Forest Regions of Mexico. Environmental Governance in Latin America, 234-256.
doi:10.1007/978-1-137-50572-9_10
Muradian, R., Cardenas, J. C., (2015) From market failures to collective action dilemmas: Reframing environmental governance challenges in Latin America
and beyond, Ecological Economics, Volume 120, Pages 358-365, ISSN 0921-8009,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.10.001.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800915003924)
OECD iLibrary. (2016, June 9). The Economic Consequences of Outdoor Air Pollution Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264257474-en
Sadurni, S. (2012, June 29). Emergency mobile hospitals in Santiago to treat bout of respiratory diseases. Retrieved January 19, 2018, from
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/06/29/emergency-mobile-hospitals-in-santiago-to-treat-bout-of-respiratory-diseases
25

26. Bibliography
Stubrin, L. (2017). Innovation, learning and competence building in the mining industry. The case of knowledge intensive mining suppliers (KIMS) in Chile. Resources Policy, 54, 167-
175.
Tecklin, D., Bauer, C. and Prieto, M. (2011). ‘Making environmental law for the market: the emergence, character, and implications of Chile's environmental regime’, Environmental
Politics, 20(6), 879-898, DOI: 10.1080/09644016.2011.617172.
Top Latin America Business and Political Leaders Meet to Address Region's Environmental Challenges. (2011, November 08). Targeted News Service, p. Targeted News Service, Nov 8,
2011.
UN ENVIRONMENT (2018). Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved January 16, 2018, from https://www.unenvironment.org/regions/latin-america-and-caribbean
UN Environment. (2017, August 10). Chile takes action on air pollution. Retrieved January 17, 2018, from http://web.unep.org/stories/story/chile-takes-action-air-pollution
UNESCO. (2017). Challenges for sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved January 16, 2018, from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/santiago/education/education-
for-sustainable-development/challenges-for-sustainability-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2017). EPA Collaboration with Chile. Retrieved 14 January 2018 from: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/epa-
collaboration-chile
Vidal, J. (2016, May 12). Air pollution rising at an 'alarming rate' in world's cities. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/12/air-
pollution-rising-at-an-alarming-rate-in-worlds-cities
World Bank. (1998). ‘Copper smelting’. Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook. World Bank Group, Washington D.C., 291-294. Retrieved 18 January 2018 from:
https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/45bb400048865823b456f66a6515bb18/copper_PPAH.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
World Bank. (2013, November 6). Can you imagine a Caribbean minus its beaches? It's not science fiction, it's climate change. Retrieved January 16, 2018, from
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/11/06/caribbean-climate-change-sea-levels-no-beaches
World Health Organisation. (2006). Air quality guidelines for particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide World Health Organisation. Retrieved from
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/69477/1/WHO_SDE_PHE_OEH_06.02_eng.pdf
World Health Organisation. (2016) Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database (update 2016). Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/cities/en/
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27. Bibliography
Tecklin, D., Bauer, C. and Prieto, M. (2011). ‘Making environmental law for the market: the emergence, character, and implications of Chile's environmental regime’, Environmental
Politics, 20(6), 879-898, DOI: 10.1080/09644016.2011.617172.
Top Latin America Business and Political Leaders Meet to Address Region's Environmental Challenges. (2011, November 08). Targeted News Service, p. Targeted News Service, Nov 8,
2011.
UN ENVIRONMENT (2018). Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved January 16, 2018, from https://www.unenvironment.org/regions/latin-america-and-caribbean
UN Environment. (2017, August 10). Chile takes action on air pollution. Retrieved January 17, 2018, from http://web.unep.org/stories/story/chile-takes-action-air-pollution
UNESCO. (2017). Challenges for sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved January 16, 2018, from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/santiago/education/education-
for-sustainable-development/challenges-for-sustainability-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2017). EPA Collaboration with Chile. Retrieved 14 January 2018 from: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/epa-
collaboration-chile
Vallero, D. A. (2008). Effects on Health and Human Welfare. Fundamentals of Air Pollution, 359-396. doi:10.1016/b978-012373615-4/50012-1
Vidal, J. (2016, May 12). Air pollution rising at an 'alarming rate' in world's cities. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/12/air-
pollution-rising-at-an-alarming-rate-in-worlds-cities
Willmott, D. (2015, March 27). Smog-Eating Buildings Battle Air Pollution. Retrieved January 19, 2018, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/smog-eating-buildings-
battle-air-pollution-180954781/
World Bank. (1998). ‘Copper smelting’. Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook. World Bank Group, Washington D.C., 291-294. Retrieved 18 January 2018 from:
https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/45bb400048865823b456f66a6515bb18/copper_PPAH.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
World Bank. (2013, November 6). Can you imagine a Caribbean minus its beaches? It's not science fiction, it's climate change. Retrieved January 16, 2018, from
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/11/06/caribbean-climate-change-sea-levels-no-beaches
World Health Organisation. (2006). Air quality guidelines for particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide World Health Organisation. Retrieved from
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/69477/1/WHO_SDE_PHE_OEH_06.02_eng.pdf
World Health Organisation. (2016) Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database (update 2016). Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/cities/en/
27