Integrated watershed management in Ecuador: Challenges, opportunities,  and perspectives for sustainable development

Edwin Pallo; David Guerrero; Rita Santana; Edy Abril; María Cárdenas-Gaudry

doi:10.17268/agroind.sci.2024.03.03

Autores/as

Edwin Pallo Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo, Perú. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3127-3872
David Guerrero Universidad Nacional de Trujillo. Trujillo, Perú https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5686-2772
Rita Santana Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo, Perú. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7026-2047
Edy Abril Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo, Perú. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9402-7930
María Cárdenas-Gaudry Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo, Perú. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1053-8456

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17268/agroind.sci.2024.03.03

Palabras clave:

watersheds, water resources, sustainable development, environmental conservation, Ecuador

Resumen

Effective water resource management is crucial for sustainable development, particularly in Ecuador, where diverse geographical and climatic conditions create unique challenges. This review article examines the advancements, challenges, and opportunities in integrated watershed management across various river basins in Ecuador. By analyzing critical issues such as pollution, deforestation, erosion, and resource exploitation, the study highlights the complexities involved in managing water resources. The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) strategies is emphasized as vital tools for addressing these challenges. The article also explores the importance of stakeholder coordination, equitable water distribution, and the need for robust environmental regulations. Through a comprehensive review of scientific literature and case studies, this study provides valuable insights and recommendations for developing future policies and strategies that ensure sustainable water management and ecosystem conservation in Ecuador.

Citas

Albornoz, M. B., & Machado, M. A. (2016). Transformaciones en la política de tierras y redistribución agraria del Ecuador. Una visión desde las redes de política pública. Mundo Agrario, 17(36).

Arteaga J., Ochoa P., Fries A., & Boll J. (2020). Identification of Priority Areas for Integrated Management of Semiarid Watersheds in the Ecuadorian Andes. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 56(2), 270-282. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12837

Baquerizo, M., Acuña, M., & Solis-Castro, M. (2019). Contamination of river: Case Guayas River and its affluent. Manglar, 16(1), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.17268/manglar.2019.009

Campbell, I. C. (2016). Integrated management of large rivers and their basins. Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology, 16(4), 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecohyd.2016.09.006

Carrión-Mero, P., Morante-Carballo, F., Vargas-Ormaza, V., Apolo-Masache, B., & Jaya-Montalvo, M. (2021). A Conceptual Socio-Hydrogeological Model Applied to Sustainable Water Mana-gement. Case Study of the Valdivia River Basin, Southwestern Ecuador. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 16(7), 1275–1285. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.160708

CISPDR: Changjiang Institute of Survey Planning Desing and Research CISPDR (2016). Memoria del Plan Hidráulico de Demarcación Hidrográfica Esmeraldas.

CISPDR: Changjiang Institute of Survey Planning Desing and Research CISPDR (2016). Memoria del Plan Hidráulico de Demarcación Hidrográfica Guayas.

CISPDR: Changjiang Institute of Survey Planning Desing and Research (2016). Memoria del Plan Hidráulico de Demarcación Hidrográfica Mira.

CISPDR: Changjiang Institute of Survey Planning Desing and Research (2016). Memoria del Plan Hidráulico de Demarcación Hidrográfica Napo.

CISPDR: Changjiang Institute of Survey Planning Desing and Research (2016). Memoria del Plan Hidráulico de Demarcación Hidrográfica Pastaza

CISPDR: Changjiang Institute of Survey Planning Desing and Research (2016). Memoria del Plan Hidráulico de Demarcación Hidrográfica Santiago.

Cordero, I. (2013). Evaluación de la gestión territorial de la cuenca del río Paute, estrategias y líneas de acción para superarlas. Tesis de Maestría en Ordenación Territorial. Universidad de Cuenca.

Chahban, M., Akodad, M., Skalli, A., Gueddari, H., Makkaoui, M., Ait Hmaid, H., Elyousfi, Y., Riouchi, O., & Baghour, M. (2024). Impact of Hydrographic Network Organization on the Morphology of the Kert Basin: Analysis of Consequences. E3S Web of Conferences, 527. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202452702008

Damanik-Ambarita, M. N., Lock, K., Boets, P., Everaert, G., Nguyen, T. H. T., Forio, M. A. E., Musonge, P. L. S., Suhareva, N., Bennetsen, E., Landuyt, D., Dominguez-Granda, L., & Goethals, P. L. M. (2016). Ecological water quality analysis of the Guayas River basin (Ecuador) based on macroinvertebrates indices. Limnológica, 57, 27–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2016.01.001

Dourojeanni, A., Jouravlev, A., & Chávez, G. (2002). Gestión del agua a nivel de cuencas: teoría y práctica. In Serie Recursos Naturales e Infraestructura (Vol. 47). https://doi.org/1680-9025

Duvoisin, S., Albuquerque, P. M., dos Banhos, E. F., Oliveira, R. L. e., Batista, C. E., Ribeiro, I. O., de Loiola, S. K. S., Neta, A. S. C., & Moraes, C. R. F. (2024). Hydrographic Basins in the City of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil: Monitoring of the Water Quality in the São Raimundo Basin Between 2020 and 2021. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 235(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-06990-0

Grigg, N. S. (2014). Integrated water resources management: unified process or debate forum? International Journal of Water Resources Development, 30(3), 409–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2013.877338

Henkel, M., & Lodemann, J. (2014). Financing water ecosystem services - Marta Echavarria and EcoDecisión. In Social Entrepreneurship in the Water Sector: Getting Things Done Sustainably. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781783471317.00014

Ilbay-Yupa, M., Barragán, R. Z., & Lavado-Casimiro, W. (2019). Regionalization of precipitation, its aggressiveness and concentration in the Guayas River basin, Ecuador. Granja, 30(2), 52–69. https://doi.org/10.17163/lgr.n30.2019.06

Jerves-Cobo, R., Benedetti, L., Amerlinck, Y., Lock, K., De Mulder, Ch., Van Butsel, J., Cisneros, F., Goethals, P., & Nopens, I. (2020). Integrated ecological modeling for evidence-based determination of water management interventions in urbanized river basins: Case study in the Cuenca River basin (Ecuador). Science of The Total Environment, Volume 709, 2020, 136067, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136067.

Jimy, C., & Mena, S. (2022). Análisis del convenio internacional de la cuenca hidrográfica del río Puyango-Tumbes y el desarrollo de la población de la zona. Revista Científica, 2(7).

Kuhn, C. E. S., Reis, F. A. G. V., Zarfl, C., & Grathwohl, P. (2023). Ravines and gullies, a review about impact valuation. Natural Hazards, 117(1), 597–624. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-05874-6

Lapuerta Jaramillo, N. A. (2022). La configuración de Consejos de Cuenca como espacios de participación y Gestión Integral de los Recursos Hídricos del Ecuador. Tesis Maestría. Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, Sede Ecuador.

Li, K., Wang, L., Wang, Z., Hu, Y., Zeng, Y., Yan, H., & Shi, Z. (2022) Multiple perspective accountings of cropland soil erosion in China reveal its complex connection with socioeconomic activities. Agriculture, Ecosyst Environ, 337, 108083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee. 2022.108083

Macías Párraga, R., & Aguirre, S. D. (2010). Estrategias generales para el control y prevención de la contaminación del agua superficial en la cuenca del Río Portoviejo. General strategies to control and prevent the contamination of the superficial water in the basin of Portoviejo River. Revista CENIC. Ciencias Biológicas, vol. 41, 2010, pp. 1-7 Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba

Marcillo, M., y Roberto, J. L. B. C. (2021). Gestión integrada de recursos hídricos y gobernanza: Subcuenca del río Vinces, provincia Los Ríos-Ecuador. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 27, 471–497.

Martínez Valdés, Yaset, & Villalejo García, Víctor Michel. (2018). La gestión integrada de los recursos hídricos: una necesidad de estos tiempos. Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, 39(1), 58-72.

Melkam, E. (2003). Crop Land Soil Erosion Prediction Using WEEP Model.

Mera-Parra, C., Massa-Sánchez, P., Oñate-Valdivieso, F., & Ochoa-Cueva, P. (2022). Territorial prospective to sustainability: strategies for future successful of water resource management on Andean basins. Land, 11(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/land11071100

Muñoz, J., y Bustos, R. (2021). Gestión integrada de recursos hídricos y gobernanza: Subcuenca del río Vinces. Provincial Los Ríos-Ecuador. Revista de Ciencia Sociales, 27(3).

Prakash, R., & Verma, R. (2023). Concept of Watershed Mana-gement and its components. Current Agriculture Trends, 2(5), 9–11.

Ragi, R., y Mallikarjuna, V. (2023). Watershed Delineation and Morphometric Analysis Using GIS and Remote Sensing. E3S Web of Conferences, 399, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202339902002

Rebaï, N. (2019). The “lifeshed” as a new scale of production of sustainable urban-rural territories. Insights from the Ecuadorian Andes | La “Cuenca de vida” como nueva escala de producción de territorios urbano-rurales sostenibles: Reflexiones desde los andes ecuatorianos. Urbano, 22(39), 8–25. https://doi.org/10.22320/07183607.2019.22.39.01

Rotaru, C., Mitrita, M., Georgescu, R., & Ciobotaru, A. V. (2019). Water management at global and sectoral level. Quality - Access to Success, 20(S2), 538–542.

Sahvaeva, E. P. (2021). Experience of preparation of river basin planning and management on water resource development, use, and protection in main and minor transboundary river basins. In Springer Water. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68337-5_2

Salmoral, G., Khatun, K., Llive, F., & Lopez, C. M. (2018). Agricultural development in Ecuador: A compromise between water and food security? Journal of Cleaner Production, 202, 779–791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.308

Santos, C. A. (2019). Paradigmas de la gestión integrada del agua (I): una crítica evolutiva a la gestión integrada de los recursos hídricos (GIRH). Revista Científica Ecociencia, 6(2), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.21855/ecociencia.62.164

Schodt, D. W. (2019). Ecuador: An Andean enigma. In Ecuador: An Andean Enigma. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429036149

Sherwood, S., Paredes, M., Gross, J., & Hammer, M. (2014). The future of sustainability as a product of the present: Lessons from modern food in Ecuador. Rivista Di Studi Sulla Sostenibilita, 2, 83–103.

Silva, C. (2022). Análisis del convenio internacional de la cuenca hidrográfica del río Puyango-Tumbes y el desarrollo de la población de la zona. Revista Científica, 2(7), 124–141.

Terán Rosero, G. J. (2018). Caracterización poblacional de la cuenca hidrográfica Mira-Mataje. Sathiri, 6, 9. https://doi.org/10.32645/13906925.276

Torregrosa, T., & Sevilla, M. (2019). Economic issues in the integrated management of water resource model (IWRM) and the management unit in a territory affected by several basins: The case of the Spanish southeast. International Journal of Environmental Impacts, 2(4), 346–355. https://doi.org/10.2495/EI-V2-N4-346-355

Velásquez, F. J., Alcántara Boza, F. A., Cabrera Estupiñán, E., & Bazurto Meza, L. S. (2023). Características superficiales y azolvamiento en la cuenca aportante al embalse La Esperanza, Manabí, Ecuador. Revista Científica Ciencias Naturales y Ambientales, 17(1), 452–460. https://doi.org/10.53591/cna.v17i1.2154

Zemtsov, V. A., & Savichev, O. G. (2015). Resources, regime, and quality of surface waters in the Ob River basin: history, current state and problems of research. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 72(3), 386–396. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2015.1019299