Key policies and governance approach

The Ecuadorian Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Law forbids unregulated air, soil, and water pollution. Besides, the country has a special relationship with water law, management, and policy because of its constitutional declaration of water access as a human right [11], [13].

Changes from the mid-2010s to water policy, in addition to the increasing influence of disruptive anthropogenic activities (such as oil, mining, agriculture, and sewage discharge), resulted in the developing of a dynamic and culturally specific framework for water management in Ecuador [11], [14]. Moreover, the integration of management systems into the national framework has afforded rural and isolated regions a voice in policy development under the Ministry of Environment [15].

Ecuador has implemented Extended Producer Responsibility Programs through the Ministerial Agreement 161 [16], including used tires (2014) [17], containers of agricultural pesticides (2013) and batteries and cell phones (2013) [18]. The Agreement obliges producers to meet established collection and/or recycling targets and if the producers fail, they are banned on selling or importing their products [6], [16]. For example, by 2019, there were about 3.14 million End of Life Tires which represent around 51,266 tons of which 23,070 tons (45%) were collected. Tires were transformed into playgrounds, carpets and synthetic courts or energy [6].

Successes and remaining challenges

One of the main challenges that Ecuador still faces is to solve the tradeoffs among the sectors that are the base of its economy, such as oil and agriculture, and the pollution of air, soil, and water that they cause. The political reinforcement of sustainable management is the main challenge to develop the country’s economic activities without compromising air, soil, and water quality [19].

The rise of economic development and unsustainable extraction in Ecuador is leading to overexploitation, pollution, and degradation of the country’s precious natural resources. Large infrastructure projects occur across the country with weak strategic planning and few management plans for following up and monitoring development projects. Government officials responsible for strategic planning and sustainable development often lack technical knowledge or the political will to implement effective and long-lasting environmental governance. As a result, short-term drivers, like profit in support of economic development, govern decision making more than long-term strategies like conservation. However, strategic planning for sustainable, systematic development may actually help to reduce costs and improve the management of development projects in the long-term [20], [21].

Ecuador needs to increase financial and legislative support around the extractive and polluting industries, such as for agriculture, Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM), and sewage treatment, to ensure the long-term safety and sustainability of water access in Ecuador. Additionally, increased efforts to educate industry-specific workers, local management boards, and individuals about potential solutions to water-related challenges will help improve the efficiency of current legislation. Finally, there is a need for additional research on water quality and sustainability in Ecuador, on the social, economic, and environmentally specific factors that influence water security outcomes in the country [11].

Further, the country needs to develop regionally specific solutions for waste management, considering population growth and the region's environmental sensitivity [21]. For example, the Galápagos Islands faces many challenges related to waste management due to the limited disposal space and logistical difficulty of waste movement off the islands. Although there is a plastic bag ban (for those bags with handles only), repurposing of glass bottles on the island, and the collection of plastic bottles and cans for mainland recycling, the import of almost all food and other supplies, in addition to the increasing number of tourists, compounds the waste problem [22].

Initiatives and Development Plans

The National Air Quality Plan seeks to improve air quality in Ecuador and consists of three programs with their respective projects. Such projects include 1) the development of a national emissions inventory, 2) a database with information on sources and emissions, 3) the development of an air quality information system, 4) the implementation of an epidemiological surveillance system for respiratory diseases caused by air pollution, and 5) the development of predictive models of air quality. Moreover, a fundamental element for air quality management is the implementation of emission reduction and control programs [23].

The National Plan for the Integrated and Comprehensive Management of the Water Resources of Basins and Microbasins of Ecuador includes several recommendations and targets for the nine hydrographic demarcations of Ecuador (excluding the Galapagos) for avoiding and decreasing water pollution from different sectors (domestic, industrial, mining, etc). [24].

Ecuador is implementing the National Program for the Integral Management of Solid Waste which plans to enhance the framework of W2E (Waste to Energy) [7]. This program seeks to generate energy by transforming waste. Due to the large amount of organic waste generated daily (57%), it is intended to produce methane into electrical and/or caloric energy [5], [6].

Goals and Ambitions

Regarding water pollution, Ecuador adopted a National Agenda to fulfil the SDGs. In 2017, the country established a baseline, methods, and indicators for access to quality water which indirectly integrates water pollution. By 2030, Ecuador aims to achieve 1) universal access to drinking water at an affordable price, and 2) equitable access to adequate sanitation and hygiene services for all and to end open defecation [25].

Ecuador is committed to promote the reduction of single-use plastics, while improving waste management through different programs like the Extended Producer Responsibility, or the generation of energy based on waste transformation [7], [16], [17].