Building on the knowledge gained during the earlier trainings of the UNESCO Amazon Water Resilience Challenge – Ecuador 2025, participants now turned their attention to the political, economic, and ecological dimensions of water. These latest sessions, training 5 and 6, expanded the understanding of how water systems are governed and how ecosystems contribute to water availability and quality.
Training 5: Water Governance and Politics
This session explored the frameworks and power dynamics behind water governance at both local and global levels. Dr. María Cecilia Alvarado from Universidad del Azuay opened with an overview of Ecuador’s water legislation, highlighting that water is recognized in the Constitution as both a human right and a strategic public good. She walked participants through the structure of water governance in the country, outlining the roles of national institutions, local governments (GADs), and community water boards. Her session emphasized public and community-based water management and the legal tools in place to support equitable access, citizen participation, and conservation.
Dr. Jampel Dell’Angelo from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam shifted the perspective to a global lens, presenting his research on water commons grabbing, a growing concern where large-scale land and water acquisitions affect the access and rights of local communities. He explained how land deals often target areas rich in water resources, leading to environmental degradation and conflicts over water access. He showed how community-based governance, collective action, and strong legal protections are key to defending water justice and sustainability in the face of growing pressures.
Training 6: Ecosystem Services and Environmental Economics
Training 6 focused on how ecosystems naturally provide water-related services, and how these services can be valued, protected, and integrated into planning and decision-making. Dr. Santiago Ochoa from Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja – UTPL introduced the concept of ecosystem services, showing how forests, rivers, wetlands, and other natural systems contribute to water filtration, erosion control, climate regulation, and more. He shared tools for identifying these services in the landscape and explained the importance of recognizing their value to local and global communities.
Ms. Ana Clara Cassanti from The Water Agency then introduced the participants to environmental economics, particularly the concept of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). She explained how assigning value to nature’s contributions can help build incentives for conservation. Through practical examples, she showed how PES schemes work, linking those who benefit from ecosystem services with those who manage and protect them. The session ended with guidance on conducting basic fieldwork to map ecosystem services, identify local beneficiaries, and assess pressures on key water-related ecosystems.
Deepening Knowledge Before the Field Week
As part of their continued preparation, participants have now started a new set of online self-paced courses. This next round of learning covers three timely and practical topics: Food Systems and Water, Payment for Ecosystem Services for Watershed Conservation through Stakeholder Collaboration, and Disaster Risk Reduction. Each module complements the recent live trainings and helps strengthen the participants’ grasp of how water issues intersect with broader systems, environmental, social, and economic.
With six trainings and three full blocks of online learning behind them, participants are now ready to put their knowledge into practice. The next step is the Field Week in Loja and the Podocarpus Biosphere Reserve, where they will explore real-world water challenges, connect with local stakeholders, and begin shaping context-specific solutions.
