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Original article: Mujeres de comunidades del pueblo Diaguita y Chango lideran monitoreo de aguas para proteger el borde costero

Diaguita and Chango Women Lead Community Water Monitoring in Atacama: «The Sea Is Not as Healthy as Often Claimed»

On the coasts of the Atacama region, indigenous communities are enhancing observations that have historically documented transformations in their territories. Through the Community Biocultural Monitoring Program, the Diaguita and Chango peoples are employing simple, low-cost scientific tools to monitor water quality and thus strengthen their ancestral rights and coastal protections.

Community science has become a critical strategy for environmental defense. In Punta de Lobos and Caleta Chañaral de Aceituno, the Network of Indigenous Women for the Defense of the Sea (RDM), which unites women from indigenous communities ranging from Atacama to Magallanes, has initiated various actions to promote water monitoring. These efforts merge scientific analysis, intercultural dialogue, and participatory mapping, empowering communities to generate and manage information crucial for defending their territories.

For indigenous peoples, “water is not just a resource; it is a living entity that sustains life, memory, and spirituality,” explains Delia Núñez Véliz, coordinator of the RDM in Diaguita territory. One of the most alarming findings from the monitoring, she notes, was the damage to the seabed: “We observed that the sea is not as healthy as it is often portrayed. Vast areas of seaweed had been completely cut, resembling grass.”

Additionally, sites of high ecological value, such as the Coastal Wetland Nature Sanctuary of Carrizal Bajo, were included in the study. While the seabed showed signs of environmental degradation, measurements taken from wells and grazing areas, vital for Diaguita transhumance (livestock movement), displayed optimal health levels.

For the Diaguita communities, this monitoring also serves as a vital defense tool against the encroachment of thermoelectric plants and desalination projects. In this context, the application for the ECMPO Punta de Lobos seeks to protect the sea and coastal area from environmental degradation. “We want future generations—our children and grandchildren—to experience the same as we, our mothers, and grandmothers have,” asserts Núñez.

The activities also involved youths from the port of Huasco who belong to the emerging group “Indigenous Young Voices,” along with the Association of Traditional Diaguita Educators of the Huasco Province. For traditional Diaguita educator Mariana Pérez Rojas, this opportunity was “very valuable for continuing to learn and convey to new generations the importance of water health.”

Monitoring in Caleta Chañaral de Aceituno

Further south, in Caleta Chañaral de Aceituno, Chango community members conducted additional monitoring activities aimed at reinforcing their coastal territory’s protection. The efforts focus on the ECMPO Tifuka and Caleta Vieja, areas of high ecological and cultural importance.

“These initiatives aimed to enhance the monitoring of freshwater and coastal zones while promoting the revival of local knowledge and the exchange of tools to observe changes in ecosystems,” explains Yasna Marín Álvarez, RDM coordinator in Chañaral de Aceituno, Chango territory.

Marín states that these tools have been pivotal in confronting threats to their territories. “Today we face industrial projects, wind farms, and initiatives like the Dominga mine, making it urgent to advance monitoring and protective mechanisms for the coastal area,” she emphasizes.

According to the RDM coordinators, these processes have also empowered women’s leadership and helped preserve ancestral practices of indigenous peoples. Núñez highlights that this work has elevated historically overlooked trades: “Many of these roles are sustained by women and have integrated into the management and governance of ECMPOs,” she explains.

Both meetings combined dialogue spaces and field activities, integrating scientific knowledge and monitoring tools shared by scientists from the network to observe changes in aquatic and coastal ecosystems. Furthermore, these instances allowed for the projection of new monitoring actions and strengthened the exchange of experiences and information among various territories in the network.

What Are ECMPOs and Why Do They Generate Debate?

The Coastal Marine Spaces of Indigenous Peoples (ECMPO) are legal figures established by Law 20.249 to safeguard the customary uses of indigenous peoples, such as fishing, shellfish harvesting, and traditional medicine, which they have historically developed along the coast.

In recent years, applications for ECMPOs have surged in the country, creating “tensions and much misinformation,” according to Marín. “For coastal communities, these areas are crucial for territorial protection and ensuring ancestral practices. These spaces present an opportunity to strengthen the conservation of the coast and sea,” explains the Chango leader.

Rodrigo Díaz Plá, an anthropologist and technical advisor for the Chañaral de Aceituno community, notes that reducing ECMPOs to merely productive logic is a narrow perspective. Unlike Management Areas (AMERB), these spaces facilitate progress in conservation, local development, and shared territory administration.

According to Díaz, ECMPOs serve as tools for local sovereignty, allowing communities to define the future of their coasts. “They have evolved from being seen solely as defensive tools to becoming spaces for inclusive local development,” he asserts.

Additionally, the anthropologist explains that this model aims to involve fishermen, schools, and local organizations in decisions regarding the coastal area, further promoting environmental education and connecting children with the sea.

La entrada Diaguita and Chango Women Lead Community Water Monitoring to Safeguard Coastal Regions se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.