The government of Chile has commissioned preliminary studies for the proposed construction of a so-called water highway, which would transport water from the mouths of rivers in the south to the arid regions of the north. The water, to be transported through a submarine pipeline, would be destined for both household and industrial use, in sectors from mining to agriculture.

Patricio Segura of the Council for the Defense of Chilean Patagonia said that the initiative proves that “the government does not understand anything.”

“The approach that is needed today is precisely the opposite: not taking resources from one region to another, but rather, making our communities sustainable by fostering the resources they have,” he told Tierramérica.