Background

The negative impacts of climate change are becoming progressively more evident in the natural and social systems of Latin America . Changes in the hydrological cycle and temperature, together with rapid glacier retreat, dramatically increase the vulnerability of mountain ecosystems, cities and people in the Andean region. In Ecuador, the Metropolitan District of Quito has been identified as one such critical area, where present and future water supply is threatened by the confluence of specific geophysical factors and the socio-economic conditions. This threat makes of Quito one of the cities with a high need of development of adaptation strategies in water resources management in response to the changing climate. This calls for the strengthening of the capacities of Quito’s local government and the most vulnerable stakeholders on climate change vulnerability, mitigation and adaptation mechanisms and effective and equitable natural resources governance.Given the significant challenge that climate change poses to development, Ecuador and the Municipality of Quito have taken important measures to face it. In July 2009, Ecuador declared adaptation and mitigation of climate change a State policy. At the local level, the Municipality of Quito’s Metropolitan District approved Quito’s Climate Change Strategy in October 2009. The general objective of the QCCS is to develop comprehensive policies that guarantee the implementation of appropriate, transversal and equitable adaptation and mitigation measures, through the generation of methodologies and management tools for research, and based on a wide and sustained participation of Quito’s main stakeholders and decision-makers. In response to their high vulnerability and their importance for people and ecosystems, water resources are among the Strategy’s core axes of action.

Objectives

To increase the capacity of Quito’s local government and the civil society to face the impacts of climate change in the water resources sector.

Target Group

Local stakeholders, youth environmental movements, institutional employee involved on the development of the activities and inhabitants of Quito