Just Water Allocation in the Dulcepamba Watershed
140 small farming communities in Ecuador.
1 8MW hydroelectric project. Water scarcity and industrial interests have endangered a thriving agricultural region's access to water.
Water is a Human Right in the Ecuadorian Constitution. Human consumption, small scale agricultural water use, and environmental flows are prioritized above all industrial water uses.
Despite this progressive prioritization of water allocation, a conflict has arisen between farming communities and the energy industry in Bolívar Province. A hydroelectric company has acquired a concession to all of the water in the Dulcepamba river basin to supply its small hydroelectric project. For much of the dry season when water is scarce, water use by upstream farmers reduces the amount of water available to the hydroelectric plant to less than its conceded amount. The company has expressed that it expects to receive its full conceded amount of water in the dry season, and that residents of the 140 farming communities located upstream will have to stop using water when the company's conceded amount does not flow downhill to its turbines.
About
A full and detailed picture of basin hydrology, local water needs, and potential impacts on local farmers' lives if they lose access to water is needed.
The Dulcepamba Project aims to gather this information over several years. With concrete data on water supply and water needs in hand, farmers will be able to better plan water use in the region, and to improve irrigation efficiency. They will also have the data necessary to apply for water adjudications that legally affirm their human right to water.
It is our hope that these data allow for local, regional, national, and international decision makers to make informed decisions about water allocation in the region. Additionally, we hope that informed and productive discussions between stakeholders in the region can lead to conflict resolution.
Project
Organization
Our team is made up of a group of dedicated researchers and volunteers from many academic and professional backgrounds. We work with several local and international partner organizations including:
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El Instituto de Estudios Ecologistas del Tercer Mundo (IEETM)
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Acción Ecologica
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La Fundación Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos (INREDH)
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Comisión Ecuménica de Derechos Humanos del Ecuador (CEDHU)
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The Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis
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The University of Maryland Plant Sciences Department
Funding and Support
Since 2013, we have received grants from the U.S. Fulbright Program, the Napier Award for Creative Leadership, the Conservation Food and Health Foundation, Environmental Defender Law Center, Frontline Defenders, and the Appleton Foundation, as well as support from the University of Maryland Plant Sciences Department, the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, PlanetLabs, and several chapters of Engineers Without Borders. We have also carried out crowd-funding campaigns and received many generous donations.
We are now looking for sufficient funds to carry out the presentation and implementation of studies to protect farmers' human rights to water and a safe and healthy environment, as well as protection of Nature's Rights. Please support us in this final critical stage of the project: