Abstract

In recent years, the Chiloe Archipelago has suffered summer water scarcity, despite hea-vy winter rains. The situation has been recognized by the governments on duty, adopting as the main measure the provision of water for human use in cistern trucks. To face this problem, this work proposed a territorial level intervention, which include a socio-ecolo-gical diagnosis of the rural locality of Catruman. The diagnosis asessed the local water demand and scarcity causes. Based on the principles of adaptive ecosystem management and with a participatory territorial planning approach, including both inhabitants and local governments, we identified catchments that potentially can provide water and designed a Participatory Network of Rural Drinking Water, including a management plan for the water supply catchment, hydrological monitoring, a low-cost network of distribution of drinking water and, the creation of an artificial wetland for water depuration. Participatory work with the community was carried out through assemblies, training and ‘mingas’, emphasizing local knowledge. This initiative is a long-term model of territorial intervention at catchment scale, flexible, scalable and replicable in other territories of southern Chile.