Evaluación de la huella hídrica de la microcuenca del río Pachanlica en el fortalecimiento de su gestión y política comunitaria.

Abstract

Water is an essential natural resource for life, so sustainable management is crucial for community development. In this research, we utilize water footprint, a tool that quantifies the water consumption of a system or activity, which can be useful for identifying areas for improvement in resource management, based on its green, blue, and grey footprint. The objective of this study was to evaluate the Water Footprint (WF) of Pachanlica River micro-watershed, located in the Tungurahua province in Ecuador. The micro-watershed covers an area of 100 km² and has a population of approximately 10,000 inhabitants. The assessment was conducted using the methodology proposed by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Four main sectors of water consumption were identified: agricultural, livestock, domestic, and industrial. The study also evaluated the sustainability of the micro-watershed in terms of water availability. The results show that the total water footprint of the micro-watershed yields values of: 827.54 m³ per year for green water footprint (WFgreen), 19,662.83 m³ for blue water footprint (WFblue), and 49,341.65 m³ for grey water footprint (WFgrey). Additionally, they demonstrate that the micro-watershed has sufficient water availability to meet the needs of its inhabitants. However, it is recommended to implement water use efficiency measures to reduce environmental impact. The study concludes that water footprint assessment is a useful tool for strengthening community water management and policy.