Ordinance N°026/2020 on the establishment of municipal conservation and sustainable use areas in the Cantón Loja - Ecuador

The ordinance N°026/2020 on the establishment of municipal conservation and sustainable use areas ("ACMUS") in the Cantón Loja is a regulatory instrument with a focus on NBS. Its objectives are to conserve cloud forests, moors, wetlands and other fragile ecosystems in their natural state. Moreover, it aims to restore ecosystem functionality in disturbed areas that are identified as priorities regarding the provision on environmental services, in particular water, ecological connectivity and the protection of biodiversity in the canton of Loja. Through a specific list of ACMUS, the municipal council creates or acknowledges them officially. Furthermore, it lays out the conservation of specific ecosystems. Possible spaces which can be identified as ACMUS are: fragile ecosystems, flora and fauna habitats, water ways, slopes, wetlands and inundation areas, areas of degraded soil and/or vegetation in need of rehabilitation. Administration and management of private and communal property areas, identified as ACMUS, are obligations of the respective owner. Areas owned by the municipality will be administrated by the Autonomous Decentralized Government. However, the management of ACMUS may be shared, through agreements between public or private sector institutions.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Dedicated strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Soil quality
Water management (e.g. reuse)
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Watershed restoration/water quality
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Social equity
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

Financial resources allocated through this ordinance, shall be used to support execute works to protect water sources, to provide trainings and ensure active civil participation, to reforest, to conserve natural ecosystems, in collaboration with community water systems or to cover administrative costs with regard to ACMUS (e.g. zoning etc.).

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Green areas for water management

Good practice characteristics:

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Decentralised Autonomous Government of the Municipality of Loja

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The autonomous decentralized government has the exclusive competency in line with the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador and the Land-Use Act to formulate territorial development plans of the canton, regulate the use and occupation of soil, authorize and control the use of lakes lagoons and river banks. The municipal council creates or acknowledges municipal conservation and sustainable use areas. The ordinance also introduces a process for future and additional recognition of ACMUS due to its local importance to conserve and restore water sources, its fragile ecosystems, maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. The initiative may come from the Decentralized Autonomous Government, Water Administration Committees, the Ministry of Environment, public or private entities or a real estate owner. Depending on the initiator, they need to meet certain criteria, e.g. the inclusion of possible threats to the integrity of the area.

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The ordinance establishes the ACMUS Co-management Committee which supports its establishment and management with regard to social stakeholder participation. Amongst others, the mayor, the head of the Environment Department and presidents of organizations representing communes, towns and/or indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian or Montubio nationalities and representative of the private sector (in a ACMUS territory) are part of this body. They promote the creation of new ACMUS, analyze their proposals and verify and monitor on investments in these areas. Territories of indigenous people regarding conservation and protection of the environment, will be continuously administrated by this community through policies, plans and programs according to their knowledge and ancestral practices in accordance with the Territorial Development Plan of the canton. A popular consultation shall allow deciding on the intentions of carrying out extractive activities in fragile ecosystems which may affect water resources in the canton of Loja.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Citizen councils or consultation for co-planning (e.g. workshops, surveys)

Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Co-design of NBS, implemented by government

Citizen monitoring and review

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

During the coourse of this research no information was found with regards to financial resources invested in the design of the instrument and also not of specific resources allocated to the instrument implementation.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The ordinance further implements constitutional rights and lays out a crucial framework for the protection and restoration of water resources, fragile ecosystems, biodiversity and environmental services of the Cantón Loja. The ordinance introduced innovative financing mechanisms, administrative processes, specific zoning and aims to encourage civil participation.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The ordinance has a holistic approach, covers future scenarios and includes sanctions in case of non-compliance. Loja's Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas counts a total of 74 099.37 hectares. With the support of "Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional", 44 223.63 hectares were added to the existing ones.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Concejo Municipal de Loja (2020). Ordenanza para la protección y restauración de fuentes de agua ecosistemas frágiles, biodiversidad y servicios ambientales del cantón Loja a través de la creación y gestión de áreas de conservación municipal y uso sostenible - ACMUS. Available at: https://www.loja.gob.ec/files/documentos/2021-03/ordenanza_no_026_2020_ecosistemas_firmar_pag_38_y_39.pdf (Accessed: 02.02.2023)

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://www.lahora.com.ec/noticias/se-aprobo-ordenanza-para-conservar-fuentes-de…

https://www.lahora.com.ec/loja/amplian-areas-conservacion-loja/

Photos

@natureandculture.org