glaciers,press |
February 23, 2026

Esta entrada también está disponible en: Spanish

In an Instagram post by Jovenes por el Clima Argentina (@jovenesporelclimarg), Argentine youth are sending a key message to correct the President and to educate the public about Argentina’s glaciers and periglacial areas: the Periglacial Environment is NOT the area around a glacier, but rather frozen grounds that act as water reservoirs and water basin regulators. And one thing that few people realize, you can have periglacial areas WITHOUT glaciers, for example in the Puna region of Argentina, in provinces such as Jujuy and Salta!

What the post says:

President Milei is trying to authorize mining on our glaciers. Listen:

[President Milei speaking]: “Basically, you have the glacier area, and the periglacial area is the perimeter at which you can begin, for example, mining activity. Today, this is not correctly regulated.”

[The post continues]

You know that uncomfortable moment when someone is trying to speak authoritatively about something they know nothing about? Well that’s what we just saw. Everything is wrong. First things first, the periglacial environment is not necessarily the perimeter around the glacier. It’s not an imaginary line that you draw around the ice and that’s it. It’s a complex ecosystem of frozen grounds that act as regulators of our most important resource: water. And this Mr. President, is well defined. Article 2 of Law 26.639 [Argentina’s glacier law] that he wants to modify, states that you can have periglacial environments without glaciers. For example, in the Puna, there are rock glaciers, but there aren’t any glaciers in the classical sense. But the president doesn’t care. He wants to do mining in areas that are key to our provision of water.

So who defines the periglacial area? The Argentine Institute of Snow Research, Glacialogy and Environmental Sciences (IANIGLA), with scientific methodology, with field work, and with more than a decade of research. So why is this important? In Argentina there are almost 17,000 glaciers that provide water to 7 million people in 12 provinces. The periglacial environment is a fundamental part of this system.

So, when Milei says that it’s not well defined, what he’s really saying is that he doesn’t like the scientific definition because it stops mining investments. So what does he want to do? He wants each province to define where they can do mining, deferring to political provincial criteria instead of scientific criteria.

You don’t touch the Glacier Law! Let’s defend what is ours!

Link to the original Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVHWL0yAUvk/?igsh=MWxvNGIwdzFnM3gyZA==

Publications by CHRE on Mining and Glaciers