Waterkeepers Chaltén: Water Conservation Project Led by Young Women

Guardianes de la Cuenca El Chaltén: Promoting Sustainable Water Management

Introduction

Guardianes de la Cuenca El Chaltén (Waterkeepers Chaltén) is a socio-environmental program that combines citizen observations, graphic design, and advocacy initiatives for environmental justice. The program’s objective is to obtain transparency of information about the ecological status of the sub-basins of the Vueltas and Túnel rivers, which are sources of one of the largest solid freshwater reserves in the world.

Participation of Young People

The implementation of Guardianes de la Cuenca relies heavily on the participation of young people. The program develops advocacy activities with young people aged between 12 and 17 and scientific monitoring of water quality with young people aged between 7 and 17. The involvement of youth in water monitoring projects started in 2022 with the project “Where the Waters Are Born,” which trained 30 people, including 20 young individuals, to carry out a water sampling protocol.

Role of Young Women

The project coordinators are young women aged 27 and 28, committed to the conservation of aquatic ecosystems. They seek to gain recognition for the unpaid work of aquatic ecosystem defenders and the fundamental role of young women in creating transparent water governance. By raising awareness of the activities carried out by these young women, the program highlights the way institutions currently operate and how the lack of participation and transparency hinders the tracking of natural changes and contamination in El Chaltén’s water bodies.

Workshops on Geopolitics of Water

As part of El Chaltén Waterkeepers, workshops on the geopolitics of water are conducted. The aim is to create concrete strategies with the young people of El Chaltén. A working group has been formed with teenagers aged between 12 and 17 to work on drafting information notes on the village’s main environmental problems. The workshops inform young people about their socio-environmental rights and brainstorm strategies based on these rights, particularly in the context of the new Ezcazú agreement. Working groups are formed to enable young people to develop their advocacy strategy, mobilizing public institutions and the community for the transparent and participative management of the village’s water. The program aims to strengthen the environmental leadership of young people by legitimizing their thoughts on water management and offering them the opportunity to identify and act as waterkeepers.

Scientific Water Quality Monitoring

The El Chaltén Waterkeeper team also forms scientific water quality monitoring groups in partnership with the National Park. These groups involve children between 7 and 10 years old and teenagers between 12 and 16. Samples are taken for analysis of physicochemical and bacteriological parameters.

Addressing Climate Change Impacts

Currently, a lack of planning and investment in managing the impacts of climate change may have repercussions on the well-being of future generations. El Chaltén faces risks of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), among other climate change-related challenges. Involving young people in water management is a way of implementing climate justice on a local scale, enabling them to identify their own needs in terms of adaptation to climate change and involving them in the assessment of uncertainty.

Rethinking Water Ethics

The special position of El Chaltén, as the first location downstream from the melting of one of the world’s major freshwater reserves, creates opportunities to rethink the ethics of water and its uses on a global scale. Reflecting with young people on the values placed on water, the diversity of uses, and the competition for access to this common good enables the creation of a local advocacy strategy that fully integrates the views of the youngest citizens. The program plans to introduce concepts from the IPCC reports and current projections into the curriculum of young middle and high school students.

Creating a Community of Waterkeepers

The program aims to create a community of local waterkeepers equipped to cope with decision-making on water management, global reflections linked to the evolution of resources, and scientific monitoring by consolidating a broad water protection network. In the context of climate change, it is essential for young people to be able to participate in decision-making related to the management of aquatic ecosystems.

Contact for more details: Marie Anière Martínez, President of the Boana Association

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   • Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, and increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.
   • Indicator 6.3.2: Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality.

   The article discusses the Guardianes de la Cuenca El Chaltén program, which focuses on monitoring the ecological status of the Vueltas and Túnel rivers as sources of freshwater reserves. This aligns with SDG 6, which aims to ensure clean water and sanitation for all. The program’s objective of obtaining transparency of information about the ecological status of the rivers relates to Target 6.3, which seeks to improve water quality. The indicator mentioned in the article, “proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality,” can be used to measure progress towards this target.

2. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
   • Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population.

   The article mentions the lack of planning and investment in managing the impacts of climate change in El Chaltén. This connects to SDG 13, which focuses on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The objective of involving young people in water management to implement climate justice aligns with Target 13.1, which aims to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards. The indicator mentioned in the article, “number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population,” can be used to measure progress towards this target.

3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels.
   • Indicator 16.7.1: Proportions of positions in public institutions (national and local legislatures, public service, and judiciary) compared to national distributions by sex, age, persons with disabilities, and population groups.

   The article highlights the lack of participation and transparency in water governance in El Chaltén. This relates to SDG 16, which aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. The objective of raising awareness about the activities carried out by young women and highlighting the way institutions currently operate connects to Target 16.7, which focuses on ensuring responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making. The indicator mentioned in the article, “proportions of positions in public institutions compared to national distributions by sex, age, persons with disabilities, and population groups,” can be used to measure progress towards this target.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: iucn.org

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