A half sanction for the new Glaciers Law

On 10/21/2009, the Federal Senate approved a new law regarding the protection of glaciers. The main contents may be summarized as follows:

(a) The scope of the law includes the "glacial environment, covered and uncovered glaciers; and within the periglacial environment, debris glaciers" and those elements considered to be strategic reserves of water resources (for human, industrial or agricultural use; or for the refill of river basins; or the generation of hydroelectric energy), as a source of scientific information or as a tourist attraction (article 2).

(b) The law defines:

•     (i) uncovered glaciers as the "exposed perennial ice bodies, formed by snow recrystallization, whatsoever its shape and dimension";
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•     (ii) covered glaciers as the "perennial ice bodies with a detrital or sedimentary coverage";
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•     (iii) debris glaciers such as "frozen debris and ice bodies, whose origin is related to cryogenic processes associated with permanently frozen soil and with underground ice, or with ice from covered and uncovered glaciers".

(c) A "National Glaciers Inventory" will be carried out, where "covered, uncovered and debris glaciers acting as water reserves in the national territory will be individualized with all the necessary information for an adequate protection, control and supervision" (article 3). Said inventory must be updated every 5 years (article 4), and will be performed by the Argentine Institute of Glaciology and Environmental Sciences ("IANIGLA") together with the National Enforcement Agency (article 5).

(d) The National Enforcement Agency has the "highest hierarchical level of environmental jurisdiction" (according to article 9). Currently, said agency is the "Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development."

(e) Any activities that "may affect the natural condition of covered, uncovered or debris glaciers" or their function as strategic reserves of water resources (for human, industrial or agricultural use; or for the refill of river basins; or the generation of hydroelectric energy), as a source of scientific information or as a tourist attraction are prohibited. Mining exploration or exploitation is prohibited in covered, uncovered or debris glaciers (article 6).

For this new law to effectively become a federal law must be discussed in the House of Representatives and be approved by the Executive Branch. The Executive Branch may exercise its veto power to avoid passing this law. In 2008, the Senators House and the House of Representatives passed Law 26,418 on protection of glaciers, whose text is to a great extent similar to the new law approved by the Senate. However, the Executive Branch did not pass the Law 26,418 and it has not become a federal law. .