CHILE CREATES NEW CABINET-LEVEL MINISTRY OF

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000564 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/BSC, OES/ENV AND OES/PI - LSPERLING BRASILIA FOR HUB OFFICE STATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA - TPRATHER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV PGOV ECON KSCA CI SUBJECT: CHILE CREATES NEW CABINET-LEVEL MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT REF: A. SANTIAGO 500 ¶B. 06 SANTIAGO 2369 ¶1. Summary. As part of the cabinet shuffle on March 26, President Bachelet also announced the appointment of Ana Lya "Uriarte" as Chile's first Minister of Environment. Uriarte has been serving for almost a year as the highest-ranking environmental official in the GOC, as Executive Director of the National Commission for the Environment (CONAMA). She is well thought of by environmental officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but is viewed less favorably by Chilean NGOs. Uriarte has been given a year to design the framework and work plan of the new Ministry of Environment. End Summary. ¶2. As part of the same announcement regarding the departure of four cabinet members (ref a),President Bachelet presented Ana Lya "Uriarte" Rodriguez as Chile's first Minister of the Environment. The Ministry of Environment was created in early March 2007 through legislation that took nearly a year to work its way through Congress and the Constitutional Tribunal. Previously, the lead agency for environmental issues in Chile was the National Commission for the Environment (CONAMA),which was created in 1994 and has been headed by Uriarte as executive director since April 2006. In addition to her tenure at CONAMA, Uriarte has nearly 20 years of public service. She is a lawyer who has taught law, including environmental law. ¶3. Uriarte's appointment was welcomed by key environmental officials at the MFA. The MFA's Director of the Office for Environment, Antarctic and Maritime Affairs, Ambassador Christian Maquieira, said he was "delighted" by the appointment. He called Uriarte an "insider" who will make the transition easily from heading CONAMA to running a full-blown ministry. The Chilean NGO environmental community has criticized Uriarte's lack of accessibility in the past. During the public session of the joint U.S.-Chile environmental talks in October 2006 (ref b),local NGOs complained bitterly that Uriarte left before answering questions from attendees. NGOs are particularly concerned with the lack of progress on combating air pollution and the slow pace of passing further environmental legislation. ¶4. On the administrative side, Uriarte has been given one year to develop a framework and work plan for the new ministry. Coordinating multiple Chilean agencies to develop a coherent approach to environmental issues will not be a simple task. With Chile's export-oriented economy heavily dependent upon the growth of its agricultural sector, issues such as global warming and more localized environmental challenges quickly run up against desires for continued economic growth and job creation. The deputy director of MFA's Office of Environment, Antarctic and Maritime Affairs, Alejandro Rogers, said he anticipated the formation of the new ministry could take longer than one year and that the MFA was taking a "wait and see" attitude. ¶5. Post Note: Five years ago, environmental protection was not a topic taken very seriously in Chile. The three-year old U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement has a strong environmental chapter that included eight joint initial projects. All of those projects have either been completed or are underway. U.S.-Chile environmental cooperation now continues under the Environmental Cooperation Agreement with a two-year work plan laid out to foster further cooperation. ¶6. The Mission has also been working to facilitate a Sister Park Agreement between a U.S. and Chilean national park. These have all been important mechanisms for furthering Chilean concerns for and technical expertise in environmental issues. We will continue to work diligently to broaden this often low-profile component of the bilateral relationship. KELLY