Last September, Corporación Ciudades alongside Fundación Mi Parque presented the guide "Water Efficiency in Green Spaces: Best Practices," aiming to provide concrete examples and solutions for maintaining parks, plazas, and gardens within Chile's current water context. The guide is an interactive document covering three major areas: Design and Maintenance Initiatives; Educational and Public Awareness Strategies; and Regulatory and Planning Strategies. You can access more information and download the guide for free at the following link.
Vegetation cover in Chile is very uneven. In the same region, you can have municipalities with over 60%, while others do not reach 5%, making access to parks and green spaces difficult for a large part of the population. That is why urban planning is not only essential, but with this guide we also want to contribute concrete and proven examples to create spaces with low water consumption to facilitate their maintenance.
- Martín Andrade, Executive Director of Corporación Ciudades.
Green spaces play a fundamental role in cities, providing environmental and sociocultural benefits while supporting local biodiversity. Although they serve as platforms for social integration that contribute to the residents' quality of life and connection with nature, there is a significant gap in access to them. Their quality and quantity are currently threatened, considering data from the General Water Directorate, which states that 184 municipalities—equivalent to 87% of the country—have experienced extreme water scarcity since 2021.
Historically, many of Chile's green areas have been developed following references from climatic and natural contexts very different from the territories in which they are located, with aesthetic and functional qualities often taking precedence over ecological ones. Climate change and growing inequality urgently compel us to transform our practices, from watering front yards, to the design and maintenance of neighborhood squares, to the construction and improvement of large parks, among others. The good news is that tools, knowledge, and technologies exist to move toward attractive, sustainable cities with more spaces for contact with nature.
- Juan Ignacio Díaz, Executive Director of Fundación Mi Parque.
The study indicates that 30% of water consumption in the Metropolitan Region is linked to human use, which includes watering plazas and gardens. To address this issue, key proposed initiatives include: using water-retaining gel, reusing rainwater for irrigation, reducing lawn areas, and developing design guidelines for green spaces. The guide also promotes sustainable front yard contests, workshops, and regulatory recommendations on the subject. Notably, this guide was a collaborative effort involving more than 20 entities, including municipalities, universities, and NGOs, which provided evidence and case studies on strategies to reduce water use in green spaces across Chile.
Below, we invite you to take a quick look at some of the strategies and actions already implemented in different areas of the country.
Design and Maintenance Initiatives
- Rainwater harvesting in urban areas
Identifying and developing different strategies to retain and infiltrate rainwater within urban areas. Examples of these initiatives include Aguas de Barrio and Water-Sensitive Cities, among others.
- Installation of modernized irrigation systems
Initiatives to install irrigation systems that minimize water waste, including drip irrigation for shrubs, trees, and herbaceous species, and sprinkler irrigation for lawn areas. Examples of these initiatives can be found in the Municipality of Iquique and the Municipality of San Miguel, among others.
- Use of water-retaining gel
This biodegradable polymer is applied to the soil substrate, absorbing water and slowly releasing it to the plant roots. This method reduces water use by more than 50%. Examples of these initiatives include the Pilot Program at Parque Araucano, among others.
- Reduction of lawn areas
Reducing or eliminating lawns on medians, slopes, sidewalks, and other areas where they do not serve a recreational purpose or are purely ornamental, replacing them with low-water-use species. Examples of these initiatives include the Municipality of Lo Barnechea and the Municipality of Providencia, among others.
Educational and Public Awareness Strategies
- Competitions to promote sustainable front yards
These contests invite residents of their respective municipalities to remove grass or high-water-use plant species from their front yards, replacing them with low-water-use species. Examples of these initiatives include the "Saca tu pasto" Contest and the "Plantemos futuro" Plan, among others.
- Workshops and talks on sustainable landscaping
Aimed at residents, these sessions share information and practical advice on creating low-water-use gardens that add color to the landscape and/or encourage the presence of animals and pollinating insects. Examples of these initiatives include the Greywater Reuse Workshops by the Municipality of Colina and the Sustainable Garden Workshops by the Municipality of Providencia, among others.
Regulatory and Planning Strategies
- Local water strategies
Local planning and management tools used to gather information and define a strategy with concrete actions for municipal water resource management based on the characteristics of each territory. Examples of these initiatives include the 2021 Local Water Strategy in San Pedro, Melipilla, among others.
- Clauses linked to water efficiency in bidding processes
Clauses designed to improve water efficiency, incorporated into the bidding specifications for concessions of green space maintenance and replacement services. Examples of these initiatives include the Green Space Maintenance and Replacement Service Concession, among others.
- Ordinances regulating water management
Local municipal ordinances regulating water use in public spaces, establishing measures such as watering bans for green spaces and trees during certain hours. Examples of these initiatives include the Local Water Management Ordinance (2020) of the Municipality of Providencia, among others.
You can access more information and download the guide for free at the following link.
This article was written by Victoria Riquelme. The translation is powered by AI.
