How extractive industries weaponize 'undone science' to block glacier protection in Chile and beyond
Original framing: “How 'undone science' shaped Chile's glacier protection battle” — Phys.org
Chile's glacier conflicts mirror global patterns of colonial extractivism, where European legal frameworks (e.g., the 1855 Mining Code) prioritized mineral rights over ecosystem rights, a legacy that persists in neoliberal policies. The 1980 Constitution, drafted under Pinochet, enshrined private property rights over collective environmental rights, creating the legal architecture for 'undone science' to flourish. Similar dynamics unfolded in the U.S. during the 19th-century gold rushes, where mining interests delayed regulation by suppressing geological data on water contamination.
Chile's glacier wars exemplify how neoliberal extractivism weaponizes 'undone science' to delay regulation, with the state, corporations, and academia forming a symbiotic network that suppresses marginalized knowledge.
The Mapuche concept of *ngen küyen* (glacier spirits) and their ancestral stewardship practices offer a radical alternative to the commodification of water, yet this wisdom is erased by a legal system that treats glaciers as 'resources' to be exploited. The study by Barandiarán et al. reveals a 20-year pattern where corporate-funded research creates deliberate knowledge gaps, enabling mining projects like Pascua-Lama to proceed without adequate oversight. Globally, this dynamic mirrors colonial legacies, from the U.S. gold rushes to India's Narmada Dam protests, where indigenous resistance is met with state violence and scientific obfuscation. The path forward requires decolonizing knowledge systems, enforcing transparency in research funding, and adopting rights-of-nature frameworks that center ecosystem integrity over economic growth—lessons that could reshape environmental governance from the Andes to the Himalayas.