The Blue Economy in Chile: Justice and Rights for Marine Democracy

Under the quest for continued economic growth the blue economy in Chile continues to expand, with subsequent environmental or blue injustices through marine developments. This article reviews how mining and coastal refinery projects, port developments, aquaculture, factory contamination, wind farms, coal and property developments continue to create contestation, and the marine planning solutions. With ecological footprints growing, analysis and comparison of a series of cases of industrial fish factory, aquaculture, sacrificial zone across Chile, shows the patterns and differences of the constellation of impacts and the relevance for marine democracy. It reviews how these different groups of fishers, NGOs and citizen scientists are coming together to challenge these issues and look for a new system of environmental impact assessment and participatory rights. It first carries out macro analysis of 44 case studies across the sectors and their impacts up and down the coast, to understand the patterns involved. It then focuses on three detailed case studies in Arica, with fish factory and harmful algal bloom impacts Chañaral, with mining waste impacts and Puyuhuapi with salmon farm impacts in the fjord. it shows how local stakeholders should not be ignored, and by creating a participatory system of marine democracy, their long-term baselines of knowledge can be integrated. Using semi structured interviews and participatory GIS it shows, the same issues repeat, and how a new participatory marine democratic system might evolve through the new constitution.