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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain.
Sec. Nature-Based Solutions
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frsus.2024.1491776
This article is part of the Research Topic Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Urban Development View all articles

Integrating community knowledge into nature-based solutions for the sustainability of water ecosystem services: Insight from local communities in Ecuador

Provisionally accepted
KALINA MARCELA FONSECA LARGO KALINA MARCELA FONSECA LARGO 1,2*Edgar Fabian Espitia-Sarmiento Edgar Fabian Espitia-Sarmiento 1Mercy Ilbay-Yupab Mercy Ilbay-Yupab 2Lutz Breuer Lutz Breuer 1,3
  • 1 Center for international Development and Environmental Research, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
  • 2 Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi, Latacunga, Ecuador
  • 3 IFZ Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    dimensions in a local community shape the adoption of specific nature-based solutions (NbS). This study provides crucial insights on NbS tailored to smallholder indigenous and peasant communities heavily reliant on water ecosystem services from headwater streams, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs in the páramo ecosystems of the central Ecuadorian Andes.Combining a multi-stakeholder workshop with bibliometric analysis, we developed a framework that integrates NbS aligned with local communities' PESTEL dimensions to sustain water ecosystem services. As a result, the lack of political will to sustain healthy aquatic ecosystems, urban-centred environmental investment, and agricultural expansion mainly influence the sustainability of water ecosystem services in the political, economic and environmental dimensions. Social, legal, and technological dimensions encompass community dissatisfaction, resistance to conservation, neglect of clean water and land use regulations, and limited innovation investment. Artificial floating islands and passive river restoration were the NbS adaptable to these PESTEL dimensions in our local communities.Artificial floating islands, a macrophyte-based technology that integrates community plant knowledge, are feasible even with limited financial resources. Passive river restoration complements them to promote headwater vegetation recovery and governance of water ecosystem services. Their integration supports drinking water supply, irrigation, fisheries, water purification, habitat conservation, soil formation carbon sequestration, and the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievement. We provide decision-makers with a rigorous assessment of NbS for local communities communities, with the potential to scale to countries with similar contexts yet extendable to countries facing similar contexts and highlight the need for future research to explore NbS in regional or national frameworks. that tackles PESTEL challenges beyond local solutions.

    Keywords: Nature-based solutions, Local communities, PESTEL, Water ecosystem services, sdgs

    Received: 05 Sep 2024; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 FONSECA LARGO, Espitia-Sarmiento, Ilbay-Yupab and Breuer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: KALINA MARCELA FONSECA LARGO, Center for international Development and Environmental Research, University of Giessen, Giessen, 35390, Germany

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