Abstract

LALA-AYO, Henry Daniel  and  FERNANDEZ-QUINTANA, Mirian del Carmen. Analysis of the sustainability through water footprint in the Pita River microbasin, Ecuador. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2020, vol.11, n.1, pp.169-234.  Epub May 30, 2020. ISSN 2007-2422.  https://doi.org/10.24850/j-tyca-2020-01-05.

The micro watershed, being considered an economic-social space, can be the starting point for promoting territorial development and investment initiatives from a participatory and inclusive approach. The purpose of this work is to carry out a referential analysis of water use in the micro watershed of the Pita River, Ecuador, by determining the water footprint, considering the sustainable management and availability of water. The blue, green and gray footprints has been calculated from the referential methodology proposed by Arjen Hoekstra and disseminated in the Water Footprint Network manual, from a systemic approach. An average of 20.4 million m3 of blue footprint, 36.1 million m3 of green footprint and 45.8 million m3 of grey footprint was obtained, with the largest contributors in general being the domestic, livestock and agricultural sectors. The regulated natural supply of blue water is 188 million m3 and green water is 64.19 million m3, of which 11% and 56%, respectively, are estimated to be no longer available in the environment. Based on the proposed indicators, the micro watershed of the Pita River shows sustainability to date; for consumption, availability and purification capacity of water, with scarcity indices less than one in the three cases. It is also established that the sectors that generate more monetary resources are livestock and energy each one with USD 44 million per year.

Keywords : Water footprint; hydrographic microbasin; sustainability; economics sectors.

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