In brief
In a move that has sparked considerable debate, Argentina's Congress has approved a bill that will make it easier to mine in glacier regions, which many argue undermines the protective measures established by the Glacier Law of 2010. Advocates of the reform argue it allows provinces greater control over resource management, but critics warn it jeopardizes crucial water supplies essential for millions of residents.
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.However, Congresswoman Nancy Picón Martínez, a supporter of the bill, stated 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. The bill's critics, including Greenpeace, argue that all glaciers and the entire periglacial environment primarily act as freshwater reservoirs which are critical in arid and semi-arid regions of Argentina.
