Outward Orientation and Marginal Environments: The Question of Sustainable Development in the Norte Chico, Chile

Abstract

This paper attempts to investigate the tensions that presently exist between economic growth and the semi-arid, marginal environment of Chile's Norte Chico valleys. During the 1970s and 1980s, Chilean economic policies have favored export-oriented growth. In some formerly depressed rural regions that came to enjoy a comparative advantage in international trade, a dramatic growth in export-oriented production has occurred; one example is the table grape. However, this mountainous region can be classed as marginal, with low average rainfall, high annual rainfall variability, high rates of evaporation, a long-term decline in rainfall and the constraints on water supply that these signify, particularly in consecutive years of winter drought. This paper explores the nature of these environmental constraints before examining the nature of the dramatic growth in export-oriented agriculture and the main economic agents that explain this growth. An attempt is then made to assess the impacts of export-oriented growth on the marginal environment of the Norte Chico, focusing in particular on the relationship between land and water. Finally, a theoretical model is created in order to conceptualise the relationship between economic growth and environmental constraints in terms of sustainable development.