Water Conflicts in Chile: Have We Learned Anything from Colonial Times?

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

 

The manuscript submitted on title “Water conflicts in Chile: have we learned anything from colo-nial times?” colonial texts from water- related conflicts that were addressed at the Royal Hearings in Santiago (1691-1800) and from the Cabildo gatherings (1541-1802), using an adaptation of the Institutional Analysis and Development framework. I have read the manuscript twice and finding the new content that can add a significate in the scientific community but I did found. There are several paper available on the same topic even author. Here I am listing few serious issue that can be address by the author.

1. Why this study is essential and going to help the society?

2. There are many small paragraph through the manuscript that should merge in a relevant one.

3. The research gap and objective of the study should have required more polish for better understanding of the reader.

Q. 4. English of the manuscript need through check, as there are many place, getting the exact meaning is difficult.

4. The order of the content is also scattered and getting difficult to understand.

5. Firstly, the authors should clarify what is the novelty of this paper. What is new? What is the effective contribution when compared with other similar papers?

 

 

The manuscript submitted on title “Water conflicts in Chile: have we learned anything from colo-nial times?” colonial texts from water- related conflicts that were addressed at the Royal Hearings in Santiago (1691-1800) and from the Cabildo gatherings (1541-1802), using an adaptation of the Institutional Analysis and Development framework. I have read the manuscript twice and finding the new content that can add a significate in the scientific community but I did found. There are several paper available on the same topic even author. Here I am listing few serious issue that can be address by the author.

1. Why this study is essential and going to help the society?

2. There are many small paragraph through the manuscript that should merge in a relevant one.

3. The research gap and objective of the study should have required more polish for better understanding of the reader.

Q. 4. English of the manuscript need through check, as there are many place, getting the exact meaning is difficult.

4. The order of the content is also scattered and getting difficult to understand.

5. Firstly, the authors should clarify what is the novelty of this paper. What is new? What is the effective contribution when compared with other similar papers?

 

Author Response

First of all, thank you for reading our paper not once, but twice. Regarding the article you found, about the same topic and by the same authors, we believe that was an early version of this research, presented at a seminar in Peru, but never published. That paper focused on analyzing collective water management in colonial times based on information extracted from conflict.  Considering your comments, we made several improvements to the document. Ahead, we answer each one individually:

 

1. Why this study is essential and going to help society?

R: We have studied that lately, most normative and regulatory changes in water resources management have come from a current social, economic and political viewpoint. However, we try to show that looking into the past, and understanding path dependence of how this legislation came to be, can help us unveil where the current problems of the system are. This allows for the consideration of this knowledge in regulatory processes, and consider the lessons learnt. The case shown is about water conflict resolution in Chile, and how it was conducted during colonial times. We believe that, even though the scenario was simpler and involved less actors, by studying their processes, their successes and what did not work, provides with significant lessons on how to carry out and improve the current system. We have re-structured and strengthened the introduction, discussion and conclusion, emphasizing this point.

 

2. There are many small paragraphs through the manuscript that should merge in a relevant one.

R: We agree that each paragraph should have a main topic and thus, we have reviewed the entire document, restructured paragraphs, and merged others. We believe the current version has strengthened after these changes.

 

3. The research gap and objective of the study should have required more polish for better understanding of the reader.

R:  Thank you for this comment. This research gap, for water conflict resolution studies considering past experiences and for the IAD use in these kind of studies, both, has been broadened, polished and placed in the introduction as well. The new text reads:

 

“Despite this relevance, most of the discussion and analysis of the history of water conflicts focuses on transnational, or interstate, disputes [31]. These have focused on general international water conflict and its history [32], transboundary water management conflicts [33], or particular case studies, such as the history of water sharing between India and Pakistan [34]. Also, historical assessment of conflict resolution sheds light on the effectiveness of different mechanisms of solving water conflicts [35]. For example, historical evidence demonstrates that water tensions often become catalysts for cooperation [36]. Few studies analyze historical water conflicts and their resolution mechanisms in Chile [24,37]. Historical water related studies have focused on the analysis of the legal regime of water and the evolution of its legislation [22–27,37] or works about potable water supply to Santiago [28–30]. However, the evolution of water conflicts during colonial times, as well as its current influences, has not been studied. Thus, history shows that better mechanisms and far greater efforts are needed to address water conflicts and their resolution mechanisms. This article contributes to this gap, advancing this research stream."

 

22. Dougnac, A.; Barrientos, J. El Derecho de Aguas a Través de La Jurisprudencia Chilena de Los Siglos XVII y XVIII. Revista de Estudios Histórico-Jurídicos 1991, XIV, 101–136.
23. Dougnac, A. Manual de Historia Del Derecho Indiano. In; Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas, UNAM: México, 1994.
24. Palerm-Viqueira, J. A Comparative History, from the 16th to 20th Centuries, of Irrigation Water Management in Spain, Mexico, Chile, Mendoza (Argentina) and Peru. Water Policy 2010.
25. Arévalo, G. Comunidades de Aguas Subterráneas: Dificultades En Su Organización y Ejercicio. Actas de Derecho de Aguas 2013, 185–194.
26. Vergara, A. Las Aguas Como Bien Público (No Estatal) y Lo Privado En El Derecho Chileno: Evolución Legislativa y Su Proyecto de Reforma. Revista Derecho Administrativo Económico 2017, 63–79.
27. Lira, P.; Maza, L. Régimen Legal de Las Aguas En Chile; Editorial Nascimento: Santiago, 1940;
28. Castillo, S. El Río Mapocho y Sus Riberas. Espacio Público e Intervención Urbana En Santiago de Chile (1885-1918); 2014;
29. Piwonka, G. Las Aguas de Santiago de Chile, 1541-1999; Editorial Universitaria, 1999; ISBN 956-244-102-4.
30. Piwonka, G. Regulación Cuántica y Jurídica de Las Aguas En Chile: El Debate En Torno al Regador Chileno. Revista Derecho Administrativo Económico 2000, 433–450.
31. Gleick, P.H.; Heberger, M. Water Conflict Chronology. In The World’s Water; 2014; Vol. 8.
32. Wolf, A.T. Conflict and Cooperation along International Waterways. Water Policy 1998, 1, doi:10.1016/S1366-7017(98)00019-1.
33. Yoffe, S.; Giordano, M.; Wolf, A.T. CONFLICT AND COOPERATION OVER INTERNATIONAL FRESHWATER RESOURCES: INDICATORS OF BASINS AT RISR1. J Am Water Resour Assoc 2003, 39.
34. Sridhar, S. Kashmir and Water: Conflict and Cooperation. Swords and Ploughshares, winter 2007-8 2008, Winter 2007-2008.
35. Adler, R.A.; Claassen, M.; Godfrey, L.; Turton, A.R. Water, Mining, and Waste: An Historical and Economic Perspective on Conflict Management in South Africa. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal 2007, 2, doi:10.15355/epsj.2.2.33.
36. MacQuarrie, P.R.; Viriyasakultorn, V.; Wolf, A.T. Promoting Cooperation in the Mekong Region through Water Conflict Management, Regional Collaboration, and Capacity Building. GMSARN International Journal 2008, 2.
37. Klubock, T.M. The Early History of Water Wars in Chile: Rivers, Ecological Disaster and Multinational Mining Companies. Environ Hist Camb 2021, 27, doi:10.3197/096734019X15463432087008.

 

 

4. English of the manuscript need through check, as there are many places, getting the exact meaning is difficult.

R: Yes, we agree. In order to solve this issue, we conducted an editing review, by a Canadian specialist. Thus, we have reviewed the entire document again, changing any sentence where understanding may be confusing.

 

5. The order of the content is also scattered and getting difficult to understand.

R: We have reviewed the document and agree that, especially in the results, the content is in fact scattered, and may be confusing for a reader. Thus, we have revisited the whole document with focus on restructuring this section, shortening, or merging some paragraphs, and highlighting better the findings. 

 

6. Firstly, the authors should clarify what is the novelty of this paper. What is new? What is the effective contribution when compared with other similar papers?

R: Duly noted. We have recognized that the research gap was unclear and not highlighted enough. As mentioned in the comment above, the paper presents two major novelties. First of all, previous historical studies focus mainly on transboundary water conflict. The few studies that review historical water related conflicts at a subnational level, have focused on the legal regime, and on potable water supply to main cities. This provides for a scientific breach. Also, previous studies that have used similar variations of the IAD framework, have not entered much into the water socio-ecological systems, and thus, our paper presents a novelty on that part as well. Also, even though this is an empirical paper on a particular case study, we believe that the method and the results are both novelties and have important implications that represent a potential contribution to the literature. It is a study that can be widely used both in theory, with the use of these tools in water systems, but also in practice, to achieve a better understanding of social systems, their conflicts and support present and future regulatory processes.

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript deals with the Water conflicts in Chile: have we learned anything from colonial times?. In my opinion, this article would not be accepted in current form.

 

A.    There is no scientific proof of the manuscript.

B.     The title of the article is not clear.

C.     I could not find any discussion comparing the results.

This article seems to be a report.

Its okay.

 

Author Response

We thank you for your time reading our document and for your insights regarding the improvements we should consider, in order to be published. Ahead, we present how we answered every one of the worries expressed:

 

1. There is no scientific proof of the manuscript.

R: We understand that our document is not bulletproof, in the sense that we do not have any quantitative analysis, nor studied a broad number of cases to prove the methods validity. On the quantitative part, in institutional analysis and water socio-economic systems analysis, research has shown that every system is so different from each other, that qualitative methods, even though they have more risk of bias, provide for more detailed insights and deeper discussion [39]. On the number of cases, we agree. Thus, any conclusion and recommendation have to account for these limitations. We believe that for a more robust study, for example, in the future, we could look at archives of water conflicts held in the royal hearings in Peru and analyze documents from other countries and systems. We have included these limitations throughout the article, especially in the method and discussion section.

 

39. Skarbek, D. Qualitative Research Methods for Institutional Analysis. Journal of Institutional Economics 2020, 16, doi:10.1017/S174413741900078X.

 

2. The title of the article is not clear.

R: We partially agree. It was difficult for us to come up with a title, because we wanted it to reflect i) that it involves water issues in Chile -a known case study because of our particular private system-; ii) to show that it involves water conflicts, one of the major issues when studying water governance; and iii) to express the main result of our work, that analyzing past documents is useful when confronted with present and future normative processes. Even though the article presents a variation of a common method, and we show it can be used in water issues, this is not the part we wanted to focus on. Also, we wanted to leave the audience a little bit captive to read at least the abstract, and that’s why we left the title open with a question. Thus, even though the title does not state our results or method, it shows that we reviewed past experiences, that it involves water conflict resolution, and that they can tell us something about water reforms today. Even though the title is not perfect, we believe it states what we want to show, and not more.

 

3. I could not find any discussion comparing the results.

R: We agree with this comment. Thus, we have improved the discussion section and the conclusion, in order to make a clear distinction between both, to truly have a discussion on the results, and to take the most advantage of each section.

4. This article seems to be a report.

R: We understand that the document seems very simple in its topic and results. However, we believe that these small changes in how past experiences can be useful in future scenarios, in managing water resources and water conflict resolution, is, itself, a relevant topic and collaborates significantly to the current scientific scenario. We have highlighted why we believe this topic is essential and has scientific merit, especially by rephrasing and rewriting the introduction, discussion, and conclusions. 

Reviewer 3 Report

The paper entitled “Water conflicts in Chile: have we learned anything from colonial times?” (Ref. sustainability- 2501288) has presented the results of the judicial review of water-related conflicts in the colonial period legal court and compares the past and present water conflict resolution mechanisms to provide insight into how to improve current water systems. The topic is very interesting and the place of these discussions in the literature of sustainable water resource management is still empty. I thank the authors and I want to encourage them to address other areas of this discussion outside of this article and reach more practical results. Here are some minor comments that need to be addressed before the article is approved.

Minor comments:

1-     The paragraphs in the introduction do not have good coherence.

2-     Reference should be provided for line 71

3-     It seems that lines 71 and 72 are in conflict. Please explain more.

4-     References need to be edited. For example, how to refer 29 and 30.

5-     Lines 146 to 149 need more clarity.

6-     Some titles should be rewritten. Specifically: line 172 also 3.1, 3.5, 3.6 and 4.3.

7-     In line 175, a general claim is made, but the witness is only one case (as mentioned in line 182), please explain why.

8-     The relationship between the items mentioned in lines 232 to 242 with the title (3.3) is not clear. Please clarify.

9-     It seems that it would be better if part 3.4 was the first title in part 3.

10- Very valuable information is provided in the discussion section. The discussion is well done, but I request the authors to visualize the information provided in this section as much as possible to make it more useful. Now there is only figure 4, which does not cover the entire part 4.

11- The conclusion needs to be written shorter and more useful.

Good luck

Author Response

First of all, we thank you for reading our paper, together with the well thought out remarks made. Considering your comments, we made several changes to the document, and believe the document has improved significantly. Ahead, we answer each of the remarks individually:

 

1. The paragraphs in the introduction do not have good coherence.

R: We agree with the statement, and thus, we have restructured the introduction completely.

 

2. Reference should be provided for line 71.

R: This line is a result coming from the previous paragraph. However, we have supported it with references that states similar issues in past experiences, and thus, they can confirm de statement made. The final result reads the following way:

 

“Thus, some aspects regarding water conflict resolution in present times may come from historical conflict resolution mechanisms, similar to what studies have shown regarding collective action associations in Europe [11,12]”.

 

11. De Moor, T. The Silent Revolution: A New Perspective on the Emergence of Commons, Guilds, and Other Forms of Corporate Collective Action in Western Europe. Int Rev Soc Hist 2008, 53, doi:10.1017/S0020859008003660.
12. Bravo, G.; Moor, T. De The Commons in Europe: From Past to Future. Int J Commons 2008, 2, doi:10.18352/ijc.98.

 

3. It seems that lines 71 and 72 are in conflict. Please explain more.

R: We reread them and agree they seem to be in conflict. The first one refers to historical conflicts, in the sense of past experiences in general. However, in the second one, we noticed that this expression has not been truly proved prior to 1800, since they didn’t have the information.  We have improved the writing of them, joined them in the same paragraph, and believe that they are now clearer. They now read:

 

“Thus, some aspects regarding water conflict resolution in present times may come from historical conflict resolution mechanisms, similar to what studies have shown regarding collective action associations in Europe [11,12].  However, prior to 1819, water conflict resolution in Chile was not as clear and thus, this thesis has not been proved from the true origins of the water system in the Country.”

 

4. References need to be edited. For example, how to refer 29 and 30.

R: We understand and the edition was made, so that these references agree with the journal’s format. They now read:

 

“With regards to natural resources, the framework has been used to study conflict resolution [28]. In this context, a similar research used the framework to study the need for coordination and cooperation of different environmental groups [29], and later on, it was used to study the role and capacity of governments to facilitate local collective action [32], both studies considering environmental conflicts.”

 

5. Lines 146 to 149 need more clarity.

R: More detail was provided. The final paragraph reads:

 

“In the current study, the framework has been adapted to facilitate understanding how water conflicts were solved during colonial times, specifically regarding which institutions were in place and what were their main roles. Thus, for this particular study, the “actors” of the “action arena” were sub-categorized into judges and those who support their participation, that is, public authorities and stakeholders, all being an important part of the actions and decisions taken in water conflict resolution during Chilean colonial times. A similar modification was done, adapting the framework to the local context, in [31]. Also, the “exogenous variables (EV)” component was subdivided, to capture different contextual elements in the analysis, considering water availability, referring to the water biophysical situation, such as precipitation trends, scarcity or drought situation, floods, or water quality problems, and rules, considering the regulatory context, including formal rules, property rights and historical considerations, as well as any exception or deviation from them. This follows a similar classification made in [33]. A “broader setting” component was included to highlight social, economic, and political broader contexts affecting the conflict resolution system in place, following a suggestion of variables in analyses from water studies [34–36] applying the related Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) framework [28]. Finally, the “outcomes” was replaced with trial results, to consider any recollection of the jury’s final decision, especially regarding innovative solutions, social consideration, ecological performance and externalities, and “evaluation criteria” was re-placed with any data or information regarding post-trial analysis. The final version of the framework and its components are illustrated in Figure 2.”

 

6. Some titles should be rewritten. Specifically: line 172 also 3.1, 3.5, 3.6 and 4.3.

R: We understand the problem and have rewritten them.

 

7. In line 175, a general claim is made, but the witness is only one case (as mentioned in line 182), please explain why.

R: This is true. In this case, we just have one case justifying this statement. However, it was a revealing result, and thus, we thought it was relevant to incorporate it. In order to justify better that this resolution may have set a standard, we found another reference from past times that states a similar result [38]. We know that this does not mean that it is a solid result, but we believe it points out an interesting way of thinking, and thus, we have kept it, while placing the disclaimer, that in our case, it just comes from one case.

 

38. González, C. El Abogado y El Procurador de Pobres: La Representación de Esclavos y Esclavas a Fines de La Colonia y Principios de La República 1 The Lawyer and Solicitor of the Poors: The Representation of Slaves in the Late Colonial and Republican Periods. SudHistoria 2012, 5, 81–98.

 

8. The relationship between the items mentioned in lines 232 to 242 with the title (3.3) is not clear. Please clarify.

R: We agree and thus, we have improved both, the title and the results, in order to improve coherence.

 

9. It seems that it would be better if part 3.4 was the first title in part 3.

R: Thank you, we have done as you suggest, and believe that the flow of the chapter improved significantly.

 

10. Very valuable information is provided in the discussion section. The discussion is well done, but I request the authors to visualize the information provided in this section as much as possible to make it more useful. Now there is only figure 4, which does not cover the entire part 4.

R: We have restructured the entire discussion section, making it clearer and we believe, it now provides a better understanding of what have we learned, with no need of extra figures.

 

11. The conclusion needs to be written shorter and more useful.

R: We agree, and thus, we have shortened and improved the conclusion section.

Reviewer 4 Report

Expertise Report on the Article "Water Conflict in Chile: Historical Analysis of Water Conflict Resolution from Colonial Times to the Present"

Recommendation: Major Revision

Comments to the Author

The topic of water conflict in Chile and its resolution is an important and relevant subject in the current global context of increasing water scarcity and water resource management issues. The article appears to focus on examining the mechanisms for resolving water conflicts in Chile, referring to historical periods to understand how these mechanisms have evolved.

The choice to study the colonial period to understand the origins of conflict resolution mechanisms is also interesting, as it may provide unique perspectives on how these issues were addressed during that time and their influence on the current system.

The subject is also crucial from a practical perspective, as sustainable water management is vital for sustainable development, water security, and environmental preservation.

Overall, the article seems to reasonably meet the specified criteria, considering the limited number of excerpts provided. However, it is essential to review the entire article. Additionally, more context and information about its research objectives would be helpful.

Suggestions for improvement:

1)      Introduction:

The introduction provides a clear overview of the topic, which is water conflict resolution in Chile, emphasizing its importance in the global context of increasing water scarcity. However, it could be improved by providing more historical context on the importance of water in Chile and the challenges faced by the country in water resource management. This will help better situate the topic in its context and demonstrate why researching it is relevant.

Suggestions for the introduction:

·         Include a brief introduction to Chile's geography and the importance of water in the country.

·         Provide statistics on water availability in Chile, the challenges of water resource management, and the consequences of water-related conflicts on the population and the environment.

2)      Conceptual Framework, Data, and Methodology:

This section is essential to describe how the study was conducted, what conceptual frameworks were used, and what methods were employed to collect and analyze data. However, in the provided excerpts, there isn't much detail about the methodology used and the sources of data. For a more robust analysis, it is crucial to provide more information about the selection of sources, inclusion criteria, and steps of analysis.

Suggestions for Conceptual Framework, Data, and Methodology:

·         Clarify the conceptual framework used to examine the mechanisms of water conflict resolution in Chile. For example, mention whether it is a legal framework, socio-economic framework, etc.

·         Detail the research methodology, including the sources of data used, criteria for selecting case studies or legal records, and how the information was analyzed.

·         Mention the limitations of the study, such as potential biases due to the use of historical sources, limited data availability, etc.

3)      Results: What do the trials reveal regarding water conflict resolution during colonial times?

This section seems interesting as it examines the evolution of water conflict resolution mechanisms in Chile during the colonial period. However, the excerpts do not provide specific results or in-depth data analysis.

Suggestions for the results:

·         Include specific examples of water-related conflicts during the colonial period and how they were resolved.

·         Discuss the effectiveness of these conflict resolution mechanisms and their impact on water management during the colonial era.

·         Connect the findings of the historical analysis to current water management issues and water conflicts.

4)      Discussion: Have we learned anything from colonial times?

The discussion seems interesting, particularly in terms of analyzing trends regarding water conflicts over time. However, it could be strengthened by further exploring the differences and similarities between conflict resolution mechanisms during the colonial period and those currently in place.

Suggestions for the discussion:

·         Examine in detail how different elements of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework have evolved over time, emphasizing the roles of actors, coordination between institutions, etc.

·         Use specific case studies to illustrate changes in water conflict management.

·         Discuss the lessons learned from colonial history and their relevance to current water resource management in Chile.

 

In summary, the article addresses an important and interesting topic, but to fully meet the specified criteria, it is essential to provide more historical context, clarify the research methodology, present specific results, and strengthen the discussion by further exploring trends and similarities between conflict resolution mechanisms during the colonial period and currently. Once these adjustments are made, the article should be more robust and comprehensive. I highly recommend acceptance after major revisions.

 

Minor editing of English language required

Author Response

Thank you for reading our article and making suggestions for improvement. We have accepted most of them and consider that the article improved significantly after these were made. Ahead, we answer each of the remarks individually:

 

Suggestions for improvement:

1) Introduction:

The introduction provides a clear overview of the topic, which is water conflict resolution in Chile, emphasizing its importance in the global context of increasing water scarcity. However, it could be improved by providing more historical context on the importance of water in Chile and the challenges faced by the country in water resource management. This will help better situate the topic in its context and demonstrate why researching it is relevant.

Suggestions for the introduction:

• Include a brief introduction to Chile's geography and the importance of water in the country.
• Provide statistics on water availability in Chile, the challenges of water resource management, and the consequences of water-related conflicts on the population and the environment.

R: We have included such information in the introduction and believe that the context is now improved and more robust. The paragraph where the information has been included, now reads:

 

“In Latin America and the Caribbean region, Chile is considered a country from which valuable lessons can be learned because it has been successful in advancing the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Goal 6: clean water and sanitation [3]. At the same time, the Chilean water system has been studied because of its strong market-based water rights system, complemented with self-governed water user associations (WUAs). It has been considered to have one of the most liberal water systems of the world [4]. Besides its progress in these areas, Chile also has challenges regarding water availability. Even though the Country stores a significant amount of water (in global terms) of 695 mm/y, there is an important imbalance between where the people and the industries reside, and where the water is located, having highly productive areas with less than 2mm/y of rain [5]. These challenges add to those associated with being a developing country, including growing water demand, together with a significant lack of institutional coordination, all further aggravated by climate change [6]. Climatic projections point towards a significant increase in the aridity of the Country, especially in central areas, where the most important cities are located [5]. Collectively, as with many other countries in a similar situation, there is a pressing challenge of rising conflicts between users, that have led, in past years, towards the emergence of a number of regulatory reforms involving water [3]. In addition to this situation, the demand to secure access of water in rural areas, the equitable distribution among its users and the consideration of the environment, have been one of the reasons behind the political and social process for a new Constitution [3]. These processes, if not handled correctly, can scale up, such as the water wars seen in Cochabamba, Bolivia [7].“

 

3. Saravia Matus, S.; Gil, M.; Blanco, E.; Llavona, A.; Naranjo, L. Desafíos Hídricos En Chile y Recomendaciones Para El Cumplimiento Del ODS 6 En América Latina y El Caribe. Serie Recursos Naturales y Desarrollo, CEPAL 2020, 198, 77.
4. Herrera, M.; Candia, C.; Rivera, D.; Aitken, D.; Brieba, D.; Boettiger, C.; Donoso, G.; Godoy-Faúndez, A. Understanding Water Disputes in Chile with Text and Data Mining Tools. Water Int 2019, 44, 302–320.
5. Lozano Parra, J.; Pulido Fernández, M.; Garrido Velarde, J. The Availability of Water in Chile: A Regional View from a Geographical Perspective. In Resources of Water; 2021.
6. Donoso, G. Water Policy in Chile; Springer, 2018;
7. Angelakis, A.N.; Valipour, M.; Ahmed, A.T.; Tzanakakis, V.; Paranychianakis, N. V.; Krasilnikoff, J.; Drusiani, R.; Mays, L.; El Gohary, F.; Koutsoyiannis, D.; et al. Water Conflicts: From Ancient to Modern Times and in the Future. Sustainability (Switzerland) 2021, 13.

 

2) Conceptual Framework, Data, and Methodology:

This section is essential to describe how the study was conducted, what conceptual frameworks were used, and what methods were employed to collect and analyze data. However, in the provided excerpts, there isn't much detail about the methodology used and the sources of data. For a more robust analysis, it is crucial to provide more information about the selection of sources, inclusion criteria, and steps of analysis.

Suggestions for Conceptual Framework, Data, and Methodology:

• Clarify the conceptual framework used to examine the mechanisms of water conflict resolution in Chile. For example, mention whether it is a legal framework, socio-economic framework, etc.
• Detail the research methodology, including the sources of data used, criteria for selecting case studies or legal records, and how the information was analyzed.
• Mention the limitations of the study, such as potential biases due to the use of historical sources, limited data availability, etc.

R: The whole section has been modified and strengthened. Together with incorporating information regarding the framework and the case studies, a whole paragraph warning about the limitations of the study has been  added. We believe these adjustments have strengthened the article fully.

 

 

3) Results: What do the trials reveal regarding water conflict resolution during colonial times?

This section seems interesting as it examines the evolution of water conflict resolution mechanisms in Chile during the colonial period. However, the excerpts do not provide specific results or indepth data analysis.

Suggestions for the results:

• Include specific examples of water-related conflicts during the colonial period and how they were resolved.
• Discuss the effectiveness of these conflict resolution mechanisms and their impact on water management during the colonial era.
• Connect the findings of the historical analysis to current water management issues and water conflicts.

R: We agree with this comment, and is what we were hoping to achieve with this section. In the updated version, we have restructured the results, providing more detail in some elements, while narrowing down and summarizing other findings. We believe this made the overall results presented more clear. Also, we included some references to specific examples, to develop the argument deeply.

 

 

4) Discussion: Have we learned anything from colonial times?

The discussion seems interesting, particularly in terms of analyzing trends regarding water conflicts over time. However, it could be strengthened by further exploring the differences and similarities between conflict resolution mechanisms during the colonial period and those currently in place.

Suggestions for the discussion:

• Examine in detail how different elements of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework have evolved over time, emphasizing the roles of actors, coordination between institutions, etc.
• Use specific case studies to illustrate changes in water conflict management.
• Discuss the lessons learned from colonial history and their relevance to current water resource management in Chile.

R: We agree with this comment, and thus, have restructured the discussion section. On the first part, we have compared past and present, considering every element of the framework, using specific cases to illustrate the points made. Then, we incorporated a second part of the discussion, where the analysis regarding lessons learned and limitations of the study were also incorporated. Also, we have changed the conclusion completely, shortening it and making clear recommendations from the article, and to make a clear distinction with the discussion, and to take the most advantage of each section. We believe these changes have led to a more robust and clear discussion and conclusion section.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

it can be accept now.

Reviewer 4 Report

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