Argentina Eases Glacier Protections, Igniting Controversy

Thu Apr 09 2026 13:47:28 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Argentina's Congress passes an amendment allowing easier mining in glacier regions, drawing fierce criticism from environmentalists who warn about jeopardizing essential water resources.

In a contentious move, Argentina's Congress has approved a bill that loosens protections on the country's glaciers, previously safeguarded under the 2010 Glacier Law. This new legislation, which transfers the authority to define protected areas from federal to provincial governments, has raised alarms among environmentalists regarding its potential impacts on water supplies for millions. Supporters, including President Javier Milei, argue it will foster resource utilization and economic development.

Argentina's Congress has passed a controversial amendment making it easier to mine in glacier regions, a move environmentalists say weakens protections for crucial water sources.

The pioneering Glacier Law, approved in 2010, prohibited all mining and exploration activities in glacier regions by protecting them as water reserves.

The reform shifts the responsibility of defining protected glacier areas from the Argentine Institute for Snow, Ice and Environmental Sciences (Ianigla) to the provincial governments.

President Javier Milei, who backed the reform, said the change empower[s] the provinces to utilise their resources and allows mining activities where there was nothing to protect.

Argentina's Senate had already approved the bill in February 2026, so approval by the lower house was the last major hurdle left.

Opponents of the reform argued that it would put a fundamental resource - water - at risk. Without water, we can't even think about a growth and development project, Congresswoman Natalia de la Sota said.

But a backer of the bill, Congresswoman Nancy Picón Martínez, said that the mining industry was being portrayed as if it were a monster.

Following the reform, glaciers and periglacial environments - which may not be covered by ice but are frozen at least part of the year- will be protected by the national Ianigla inventory until provincial leaders prove they do not serve as strategic water reserves.

There are 16,968 glaciers in Argentina, providing water to 36 river basins across 12 provinces, home to seven million people.

Water from melted glaciers helps to reduce the impact of droughts - especially in semi-arid provinces like Mendoza - which are becoming more common due to climate change.

Governors from the mineral-rich provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, Mendoza, and San Juan had expressed their support for the bill, stating that the 2010 Glacier law hindered the goal of promoting a sustainable economic development of the provinces and the Nation without compromising future generations.

Greenpeace has criticised the bill for arguing that not all glaciers and periglacial environments act as strategic water reserves. Agostina Rossi Serra, a biologist working with Greenpeace, stated that the primary function of all glaciers and the entire periglacial environment is to act as a freshwater reservoir.