Original article: Chile Sustentable: «Proyecto de reconstrucción nacional aprobado por el Congreso debilita Ley SBAP y amenaza las áreas protegidas del país»

Chile Sustainable: National Reconstruction Bill Approved by Congress Undermines SBAP Law and Threatens Protected Areas

Law 21.600, which establishes the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service and the National System of Protected Areas—known as the SBAP Law—was published in September 2023 and is currently in the implementation phase.

This regulation is a landmark in the protection of national biodiversity. For this reason, there have been various attempts to weaken it.

The most recent effort is the National «Reconstruction and Economic and Social Development» bill, introduced for discussion in Congress on April 22, 2026.

The original text of this initiative modified Law 21.600 through two provisions related to extending the deadline for its regulations and introducing new requirements for the creation of priority sites.

However, during its processing, a third provision was added that permits the relocation of aquaculture activities from a National Park to a National Reserve or a Multiple Use Conservation Area, even if these areas do not have a management plan in place. This text was included in the version approved by Congress on August 4, 2026, under Official Document No. 21.440.

According to Dr. María Isabel Manzur, a biodiversity researcher at Chile Sustainable, this addition represents a significant shift regarding the conditions established by the SBAP Law.

«The inclusion of this provision signifies a serious weakening of Law 21.600, as it allows aquaculture activities to be developed in protected areas without prior management plans. This poses risks to the biodiversity that the SBAP Law aims to protect,» warns the expert.

The modification is particularly important given that, during the deliberation of Law 21.600, conditions were established for conducting productive activities within protected areas.

Articles 80 and 92 state that such activities must have a management plan; they must be compatible with the category objectives, the object of protection, and the management plan of the area; and they must also have a favorable report from the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP).

Tailored for Aquaculture Companies

The newly incorporated text in the bill undermines the spirit of Law 21.600 by allowing aquaculture activities in National Reserves and Multiple Use Conservation Areas, categories that, by definition, only permit sustainable use activities within them, as established by Articles 60 and 61 of the SBAP Law.

«Law 21.600 sets clear conditions for productive activities to be developed within a protected area. It is not enough to have a concession: there must be a management plan, and it must be ensured that the activity is compatible with the conservation objectives of the area. This modification introduces an exception that weakens those guarantees,» explains Manzur.

Chile Sustainable points out that this provision’s incorporation has been tailored for aquaculture companies looking to expand their activities within protected areas, especially in the Las Guaitecas National Reserve in Aysén and the Kawésqar National Reserve in the Magallanes Region. Both do not have a management plan, which has prevented salmon farming companies from expanding in these territories.

Law 21.600 ensures the continuation of those concessions granted prior to its enforcement, but it does not allow new concessions in protected areas without a current management plan.

The Situation at Canal Muñoz

Chile Sustainable highlighted the situation of a salmon farming company that holds concessions prior to Law 21.600 in the Kawésqar National Reserve and has not been able to expand its activities for several years into other sectors of the reserve, such as Canal Muñoz, due to the absence of a management plan.

On March 23, 2026, the company filed a complaint with the 2nd Environmental Court of Santiago to challenge the legality of Law 21.600, specifically the requirement for a management plan.

«What is at stake is the standard of protection for the protected areas. If relocalization of aquaculture activities is permitted in reserves that still lack a management plan, there is a risk that productive activities will take precedence over the conservation objectives that justify the existence of these areas,» states Dr. María Isabel Manzur.

«The relaxation of Law 21.600 to allow industrial activities within protected areas is extremely concerning. Chile Sustainable calls on legislators and the government to eliminate this article and to stop further weakening the SBAP Law,» emphasized representatives from the environmental organization.

And the Regulations?

On top of all this, on March 12, 2026, 12 regulations of the SBAP Law that were ready for review in the Comptroller’s Office were withdrawn, without specifying deadlines for their re-submission.

This clearly delays the implementation of the regulation by leaving pending the necessary regulations for its application. Moreover, the transfer of protected areas from Conaf to the SBAP, which was supposed to occur on August 1 of this year, has been postponed until March 2027.

«The notion that there is a conflict between economic development and environmental protection is misleading. Economic development requires the protection of biodiversity and natural resources to sustain healthy growth that does not destroy the foundation of a country’s wealth,» concluded representatives from Chile Sustainable.

We will continue to provide updates.