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]

Logotype of the Environmental Assessment Service.

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]