Diagnosis of the coastal management model in Chile: The island and the sea of Chiloé governance

Abstract

The aim of the study described here was to gain a better understanding of the cause of problems in southern Chile by critically analyzing the governance of the coastal areas of the island and the sea of Chiloé. Chiloé is the main island of the homonymous archipelago located in southern Chilean Patagonia. A strategic diagnosis was carried out by studying the ten subdivisions of the political-administrative system that compose the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Decalogue. The results demonstrate that conflicts in Chiloé follow a strongly centralized state model, which tends to prioritize economic development over the socio-ecological and cultural complexity of the coast and disregarding climate change effects and the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being. In the last five years, some advances have been made in the constitutional process and decentralization objectives, suggesting an improvement in Chiloe’s coastal management.