Prácticas de gestión para una comunidad sostenible y su incidencia en el desarrollo, Manglaralto-Santa Elena, Ecuador

Abstract

The north coastal area of Santa Elena has been touristically boosted for about 10 years by the "Ruta del Spondylus", previously called "Ruta del Sol", which consists of a route or highway that travels along the line coast and delineates most of the Ecuador´s coast, connecting coastal towns of much tourist boom. Rural populations in the north of Santa Elena´s province, do not have water distribution by the state. Some years ago, they have undertaken with the water boards organization, a community work to supply water to their communities. The aim of this paper is to analyze development practices around the use of water, through the evolution of buildings related to tourism, and other strategies that serve to establish a very peculiar development, considering the conservation of natural resources. The study methodology is based on: i) Socioeconomic data of Manglaralto, ii) The evolution of water demand in the aquifer system, iii) the evolution of the territory in its development of buildings related to tourism and iv) the spatial model of the current system that contemplates sustainable practices. The geospatial analysis through geographic information system ArcGIS has been the tool that has allowed to realize observations of the distribution of the buildings during certain periods from 2006 to 2014, in order to establish correlations between aquifer´s production, supported by a researchacademic project, and the increase of buildings. The study reflects the interrelation between the water academic research project and the reality of water supply with the development of buildings on the Manglaralto river banks. Thus, the territory-population system has been regulated, and evolves in an interaction between the reality and the academic research contribution, which consider the coastal aquifer water linked to Manglaralto river. Finally, it is noted that the community has carried out sustainable practices such as groundwater recharge, river management, environmental protection of the upper river basin, and the territory organization for its development.

Groundwater Resilience Assessment in a Communal Coastal Aquifer System. The Case of Manglaralto in Santa Elena, Ecuador

“…The GRAM application in Manglaralto reflects a communal coastal aquifer system with problems maintaining water service. However, since the creation of JAAPMAN, the success factors have been community participation based on ancestral knowledge [62], the interaction between the academy and the community, and the ability to make alliances reflected in technical cooperation projects with national and international organizations [63,67]. In addition, the key factors are projects with practices based on sustainability, such as treating wastewater through green filters and promoting reforestation, thus, expanding the social responsibility of supplying water to the population by attending to wastewater and integrating it into the water cycle (Figures 2-4) [72].…”

“…This initiative generated project proposals ECU/8/041: Characterization of Coastal Aquifers in the Santa Elena Peninsula and RLA/8/026: Application of Isotopic Tools for Integrated Management of Coastal Aquifers. The projects began in 2007, led by CIPAT-ESPOL, together with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [63,67].…”

“…This natural system has been the focus of ongoing study for more than 10 years. However, studies show that no progress has been made in determining the interaction of biophysical, social, and other factors in an integrated way [33,63,67,68,73]. These elements may affect the flow of water for anthropic activities (tourism, industry, governance, among others) and cause shortages in the water supply.…”

Community Management of the Olón Coastal Aquifer, Ecuador, and Its Impact on the Supply of Water Suitable for Human Consumption

“…The problem of water scarcity and the high demand of the tourism sector has been faced by the method of the rescue of ancestral knowledge, which is practiced in the neighboring hydrographic basins, of other community water boards, such as Manglaralto [21]- [23]. Therefore, in Olón, three "tapes" (engineering dikes) have been built in the riverbed, which retain the original characteristics of the knowledge of the ancestors and built with the same gravel materials, sands, pebbles and boulders of the river itself [24].…”

“…In any case, the tape is helping to control this process. The community of Olón, also following Manglaralto's reference, is energized through participative processes [21], [25] for them, even in the construction of the tapes there is a very exemplary participatory community work.…”