Latin America; in English (pdf) - Transboundary Freshwater Dispute ...

Public infrastructure project (road construction) in El Alto, north of La Paz, Bolivia. Photo credit: USAID.
Antofagasta-Bolivia for the use of the Silala
waters. As of 2004, no bills have been paid
(Toromoreno 2000).
Bolivia claims ownership of the Silala River
because it originates in springs on the Bolivian
side of the border and is “carried” artificially to
Chile, rather than being a naturally occurring
phenomenon. Bolivian scientists believe the water
comes from an aquifer below the surface and its
natural discharges are what emerge from the
springs (Silala 2004). The water would not travel
to Chile without the works of the Chilean railroad
companies almost 100 years ago. Hence, Bolivia
believes it can control the flow and/or charge
Chile for the use of the water.
Chile’s position is much more simple than
Bolivia’s point of view. Chile claims that the
waters were never diverted from the springs to
form a river, but that they naturally canalized to
establish the Silala River. By this logic, the Silala
is therefore an international river and, under the
1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of
Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses,
Chile has the right to a “reasonable and
equitable” share of the water. It is interesting to
note that Chile voted for and Bolivia abstained
from the voting of this Convention (see Map 7b).
Hence, Chile does not believe it should pay for
the use of the Silala and has not done so up until
this point. Chile does not recognize the Silala
concession to DUCTEC, because Chile has
asserted a sovereign right to the water as an
international watercourse.
On the surface, the entire debate seems to
be over whether the Silala River is an international
basin. But, because of the underlying issues
of politics, economics, sovereignty, and history,
the Silala has become one of the most hydropolitically
vulnerable basins in the world. Drivers
such as Chile’s use of the water for its worldleading
copper mining industry and Bolivia’s
threats to cut the water off if Chile does not grant
land for a Bolivian port on the Pacific are not
small issues that are easily resolved.
The problem is only exacerbated by the fact
that the two governments do not have official
diplomatic relations, although they do have
Farmers, villagers, and local officials build a reservoir to supply water to
farms in Santa Rosa de Ocana, in A yacucho, Peru. Photo credit: USAID.
Chapter 3. Hydropolitical Vulnerability, South America — 65