Ethical Issues of Water Resource Management in a Changing Climate: Equity and Legal Pluralism in Chile

Abstract

xi, 129 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.

Climate change is disrupting the underpinnings of effective water management by profoundly impacting hydrological patterns. Political entities mandated with freshwater management must respond to society's water needs as availability fluctuates and, in doing so, will encounter difficult ethical dilemmas because existing water laws are ill-equipped to resolve such problems. This thesis takes Chile's water laws as representative of the challenges in addressing ethical disparities arising from freshwater management in a changing climate and proposes that "water ethics" can effectively be used to manage freshwater resources. I examine the 1981 Water Code with a critical eye towards ethical shortcomings and also examine distributive impacts upon indigent farmers and indigenous communities. I conclude that Chile's existing water laws are inequitable because they deny legitimacy to diverse socio-cultural norms regarding water use. Principles of modern water laws must incorporate diverse cultural water laws using a legally pluralistic and ethical approach to management.

Committee in Charge:

Dr. Anita M. Weiss, Chair; Professor Derrick Hindery; Professor Stuart Chinn