Ecobreves – CHILE: Water Dispute with Argentina Resurfaces

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SANTIAGO, Sep 2 2006 (IPS) - Chile has renewed its protest against Argentina's publication of maps that annex the southern territory of Campos de Hielo Sur (Southern Ice Field of Patagonia), one of the planet's largest reserves of freshwater. The Chilean Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note on Aug. 28 — something it has done on several occasions since 2001.

A 1998 agreement establishes that the area should be represented as blank until a binational commission determines the binational border. All that is needed is to delineate the 66 km between Fitz Roy and El Murallón mountains.

“The scientists could be very useful in resolving the dispute. Although Argentina has studied the zone more, Chile has not had sufficient financing,” Carlos Cárdenas, researcher for the Antarctic program at the University of Magallanes, told Tierramérica.