Ecuador already has 21 water protection areas

In the “Valle del Amanecer”, the city of Otavalo, the delivery of the establishment of the “Otavalo Mojanda Water Protection Area” was developed by the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition to the Municipality of the canton. The event had more than 300 people who were part of this meeting that represents the joint work between the National Government and municipal and parish Autonomous Decentralized Governments, in protecting, recovering and conserving water resources in their natural state, essential to guarantee water in quantity and quality for the development of the country.

The Ministry of the Environment handed over the establishment of the “Otavalo Mojanda Water Protection Area”.

The APH is the 21st nationwide and the 11th in the current administration. An important territory that has a total area of ​​1,836.56 hectares that are located in the urban parish of San Luis and rural parishes: Eugenio Espejo, González Suárez and San Rafael de la Laguna. It has a large lake complex made up of 35 water sources that provide the surrounding community with an authorized flow of 301.37 liters per second, benefiting 14,330 people. These actions provide water for human consumption and production for food sovereignty, the fight against chronic child malnutrition and the generation of employment for the northern highlands of the country.

On the surface of the area, four types of ecosystems have been identified, these being the ones that give rise to water sources, which make this area of ​​high water importance, both for human consumption and for irrigation. The present ecosystems correspond to: páramo grasslands (58.69%), montane evergreen shrubland of the northern Andes (0.67%), high montane evergreen forest of the Western Cordillera of the Andes (26.37%) and bodies of water (10.06%).

At the event, Gustavo Manrique, Minister of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, pointed out that “we continue advancing in our crusade for the protection of the country’s water and today, with this new area, we incorporate more hectares in compliance with the proposed goal until 2025 to reach 284 thousand hectares of national territory under water protection. The Government of Ecuador rewards their efforts with a public policy aimed at continuing to improve the quality of life of Ecuadorians and the sustainability of the water heritage.”

For his part, Mario Conejo, mayor of the Otavalo canton, stressed that “for us these acts inspire us to continue working for the conservation and maintenance of the páramos. Our communities permanently develop several joint mingas, because they are aware of the importance of water for life and its sustainability”.