Argentine Glacier Law
ColumbiaClimateSchool: “[Argentina Reforms Glacier Protection Law](http://Argentina Reforms Glacier Protection Law).” Argentina has about 17,000 glaciers that feed watersheds and river flows, the main support of water supply for millions of people. In 2010, the country passed first-of-its-kind protection with the long-windedly-named legislation, “National Law 26.639, the Minimum Standards for the Preservation of Glaciers and the Periglacial Environmental Law.” It defined glaciers and periglacial landscapes—areas that undergo freezing and thawing, typically located on the edges of either past or present glaciated regions—as public assets and water reserves.”
“Before its enactment in 2010, glaciers were only protected if they fell within National Parks, leaving most of these ecosystems—which hold 70% of the country’s fresh water—vulnerable to climate change and industrial activities.” But a decade ago in 2026, “a government report found 44 mining projects in glacial and periglacial areas, with more likely getting underway since.
“While the national glacier protection law mandated an inventory to track which areas are protected, the inventory has not been sufficiently funded nor maintained to accurately enforce protection.” In December of 2023, the political pendulum swung to the right with the election of Javier Milei to the presidency.
In December of 2025, “he sent a bill to the National Congress of Argentina that loosens environmental protections and opens the door for further mining and industrial activity in glacial and periglacial landscapes.” The other house of congress—the Chamber of Deputies—”will discuss the change later this month, where it is likely to receive significant support, though its approval is not guaranteed.”
The cordillera mountain range extends through the western margins of Central + South America + all the way to the Antarctic Peninsula. [known as the Andes in Argentina]. All that crucial + lovely ice is at risk from both the marauding climate + ill-advised extractive legislation.