The organizations that make up the Alliance for Andean Wetlands alert the Ramsar Convention Secretariat about the changes in the ecological conditions of the Andean wetlands and the non-compliance of the countries with their international obligations. 

The Alliance for Andean Wetlands sent an urgent alert to the General Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention, an international agreement that promotes the conservation and wise use of wetlands, about changes in the ecological conditions of Andean wetlands -salt flats, lakes, lagoons, meadows and wetlands- in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, due to increasing lithium mining.

 The alert states that, in the midst of the expansion of lithium mining, the States of the three countries are failing to comply with their international obligations under the Ramsar Convention on the conservation, management and wise use of wetlands.

In the document, the Alliance warns that these changes imply current and potential impacts on biological diversity, water security, the livelihoods and traditional and productive practices of local communities and indigenous peoples who depend on these ecosystems.

Chile, Argentina and Bolivia make up a system of Andean salt flats -located in the Puna ecoregion- which holds the largest lithium reservoirs in the world, concentrating between 52% and 68% of global reserves, according to different sources. By 2023, 30% of the world’s lithium mining production will come from these three countries, making Latin America the region with the second-largest production.

In this context, the alert contains evidence of the environmental impacts that are already occurring in this ecoregion, in the Andean wetlands in general and in those listed as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar treaty due to multiple projects for the extraction of lithium and other minerals that are considered critical for the energy transition of countries in the global north.

In Chile, for example, at least three salt flats have been declared by the Chilean judiciary to have irreparable environmental damage due to water extraction: Punta Negra, Lagunillas and Pedernales. In Argentina, lithium mining has been exploited for more than thirty years in the Salar del Hombre Muerto, located less than 60 km from the Lagunas Altoandinas y Puneñas de Catamarca Ramsar Site, which has caused a drastic decrease in the water content of the salt flats. In Bolivia, the Capina and Chalviri salt flats already have environmental impacts from mining activities and are part of calls for new lithium extraction projects. 

Lithium mining requires the use of water in a region where it is a scarce commodity, which aggravates the water stress of the salt flats, given their extreme aridity. The use of fresh water to produce one ton of lithium carbonate equivalent ranges between 5,000 and 50,000 liters, according to research published in Science of The Total Environment.

Some of the most important points that the Alliance for Andean Wetlands requests to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat:

• Establish communications with the States of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia so that they become aware, inform themselves and transmit without delay, information about the changes in the ecological conditions of the Andean wetlands, as a consequence of lithium, copper and other mining activities, within the framework of the energy transition of the global north.
• Include in the Montreux Record, a list of wetlands that are seriously threatened, the Andean wetlands that merit such a measure.
• Propose as an urgent measure the Procedure for Monitoring Wetlands of International Importance in the national territories of the three countries.
• Establish specific action programs for wetlands and the basins of which they are part.
• Conduct a review of laws, policies and incentives related to Andean wetlands and mining, within the framework of the energy transition.
• Establish a joint regional strategy for the conservation and wise use of wetlands, as well as for water management planning, that takes into consideration the ecological needs of wetlands in the current context and generates the necessary conditions to ensure the subsistence, livelihoods and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities in the territory.