Environmental Assessment Service

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Logotype of the Environmental Assessment Service.

Chile's Environmental Assessment Service (Spanish: Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental or SEA) is a public agency that regulates issues related to the environment. With regards of natural resources it seeks that these are used in a rational, sustainable, responsible and ethical manner.[1] Its predecessor agency is Comisión Nacional de Medio Ambiente (CONAMA).[2] The origins of the agency can be traced to 2005 when OECD suggested a series of improvements to the environmental legislation of Chile.[3][4] In 2018 442 persons were employed by the Environmental Assessment Service, including 25 geographers.[5] As of September 2025, a total 452 projects worth US$108 billion were being reviewed by the service.[6]

The Environmental Assessment Service has been criticized for the lengthiness of its processes,[7] the uncertainty in them,[7] and as lacking full independence as it depends ultimately on the authority of President of Chile.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental". Chile Atiende (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  2. ^ Vial Barros 2025, p. 4.
  3. ^ Carter Gamberini, Henríquez Ruiz & Bruna Morales 2019, p. 12.
  4. ^ Nacional, Biblioteca del Congreso. "Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional | Ley Chile". www.bcn.cl/leychile (in Spanish).
  5. ^ Carter Gamberini, Henríquez Ruiz & Bruna Morales 2019, p. 23.
  6. ^ "Chile moves forward with overhaul of environmental review system". Bnamericas. 2025-09-02. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  7. ^ a b Carrasco, Edesio; García, José Francisco; García-Huidobro, Luis Eugenio (2024-05-01). Evaluación ambiental ante el Congreso: Diagnóstico parcial y propuestas de reforma insuficientes (PDF) (Report). Puntos de Referencia (in Spanish). Vol. 696. Centro de Estudios Públicos.
  8. ^ Vial Barros 2025, p. 7.
Bibliography
  • Vial Barros, José Ignacio (2025). ¿ Un servicio de evaluación ambiental autónomo?: razones a la luz de la jurisprudencia, doctrina y experiencia (M.Sc. thesis). Universidad de Alicante.
  • Carter Gamberini, Virginia; Henríquez Ruiz, Cristián; Bruna Morales, Claudia (2019). "Aportes y desafíos del Sistema de Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental (SEIA) a la conservación de la biodiversidad en Chile" [Contributions and challenges of Environmental Impact Evaluation System (SEIA) for the conservation of biodiversity in Chile]. Investigaciones Geográficas (in Spanish). 72: 9–29.