The rapid population growth in several cities of Ecuador, caused mainly by migration from the countryside and demographic expansion, has provoked a demanding spread out of urban centres, with little planning and increasing impact on the ecosystem.
Modern cities need more water, the number of motor vehicles exceeds the prospects that sketched urban planning decades ago, the sanitary infrastructure is outdated and the government has insufficient capital to invest in major construction work.
Particularly in Loja, information on the urban environment was scarcely available and largely dispersed, reason why NCI, using the GeoCiudades methodology of PNUMA, created GeoLoja, a document that reviews the current state of the urban atmosphere, focused to students, technicians, planners, politicians and citizens who show concern about the environmental condition of its city.
In Celica and Zamora, water shortages and ever-increasing vulnerability to the environmental phenomena, are the main concerns of their inhabitants, reason why NCI is assisting the municipalities in the process of preparing studies and purchasing land to assure the conservation of the water springs/sources of these regions.
In addition, NCI, together with other environmental actors in the south of the Ecuador, work on coordination structure, planning and follow-up/evaluation of the environmental actions and development, in what has been named Environmental Regional Council (CAR). This working group is responsible for the creation of local proposals and establishes the framework/agenda of action to be taken by conservationist institutions, international cooperation, development organizations and local governments, in reference to the administration of its natural resources.
