Maria Rafaela Retamal Diaz, Centro de Ciencias Ambientales EULA-Chile, Universidad de Concepción, , mretamald@udec.cl
ABSTRACT
Sustainability at a river-basin level includes the integration of actors, policies, knowledge and uncertainty. All these elements depend on human understandings of the relationships between the involved concepts. The perceptions of a multi-propose sub-basin were studied through a mixed methodology of: identifying strengths and weaknesses of Chilean water governance; designing and applying an in-depth interview of key stakeholders as well as a questionnaire to water-users and the public; and validating these through a participative workshop. The results show that the main strengths are the solid structure of Chilean water governance at the national and local scales, but participation and inclusion remain weak, and there is resistance to participation. There are at least six key stakeholder groups and perceptions. While industrial actors are more informed and aware of climate change adaptation, institutional actors maintain a skeptical and political discourse at national and local level.
KEYWORDS: participation and inclusion; equity and sustainability; decentralism