With support from the Amazon Basin Project – Implementation of the Strategic Action Program (SAP), Ecuador declared the Nueva Esperanza Water Protection Area and established two Water Protection Zones along the Misahuallí and Calmitoyacu rivers, in the Amazonian province of Napo. The resolutions were officially presented at an event attended by 300 people on September 2 in Cotundo, Archidona Canton, marking the beginning of a new phase aimed at putting the protection of these areas into practice through management, restoration, monitoring, and coordination among institutions, local governments, communities, and landowners.

The three instruments are intended to conserve and protect water sources and their associated ecosystems. Their establishment concludes a process that included technical studies, field surveys, high-precision tools, and hydrological and hydraulic modeling, as well as an analysis of the characteristics and uses of the territory.

In the case of the Water Protection Zones, the studies made it possible to define protection boundaries according to the characteristics of the rivers and to generate information to guide their management, ecosystem conservation, land-use planning, and the prevention of flood-related risks.

Vice Minister of Water Freddy Muñoz highlighted the significance of the decision for water security and the management of these territories. “This declaration goes far beyond territorial delimitation. It truly represents a firm decision by the State to conserve our water sources, strengthen the water security of communities, and promote restoration, monitoring, territorial management, and governance actions.”

Muñoz also acknowledged the contribution of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) to the process and emphasized that the cooperation provided through the Amazon Basin Project has made it possible to “turn these regional commitments into concrete actions.”

A Shared Responsibility

For communities and landowners whose properties are located within these water protection areas, the establishment of these instruments also means taking an active role in safeguarding water sources. Yadira Tanguila, from the Nueva Esperanza San Fernando community and a beneficiary of the new Water Protection Area, highlighted the landowners’ willingness to participate: “As landowners whose properties form part of this water protection area, we know that we have an important role to play in conservation, and we are willing to contribute and collaborate.”

Tanguila also emphasized the importance of continuing the work. “It is important that this process translates into actions and projects that benefit both water protection and the families who live in this territory.”

Clelia Rosales, a beneficiary of the establishment of the Water Protection Zone, reinforced the community dimension of protection: “We know that caring for water and our territory is a shared responsibility and that only by working together will we be able to conserve nature and our beloved rivers over the long term.”

The initiative is part of the Amazon Basin Project’s efforts to strengthen integrated water resources management in ACTO Member Countries. In Ecuador, the intervention supported the implementation of instruments provided for under national legislation for the conservation and protection of water resources and their associated ecosystems.