Ecuador

2020 Voluntary National Review

Ecuador reported an increase in the percentage of households that use basic sanitation services from 85.9% in 2016 to 90.7% in 2019, an increase in the number of households that have a facility to wash their hands with soap and water from 85.3% in 2016 to 89.2% in 2019, as well as an increase in basic hygiene facilities to 89.1%. Ecuador has reported several actions aimed at the care and protection of water resources, such as the Creation of Water Protection Areas which contributes to the fulfillment of the rights of nature through the conservation of water resources; the Public Water Registry, which is a computer tool for information on water resources, updated and organized to facilitate decision-making at the state level; the School of Water which is a strategy aimed at strengthening the skills and capacities of actors related to water resource management through research, training, education and awareness; and the National Laboratory for Water and Sediment Quality, whose objective is to understand the behavior of the hydrological cycle and perform water and sediment quality analyses.  

Additionally, the country committed to developing measures for the protection and integrated management of coastal management areas, hydrographic basins and riverbanks, for their conservation and sustainable use, in coordination with the development plans and land use planning. Some ways in which this will be accomplished are through the National Strategy for Drinking Water and Sanitation (ENAS), the National Plan for Integrated and Comprehensive Management of the Water Resources of the Watersheds and Micro-Watersheds of Ecuador. These initiatives are reported to be in execution in the intervention for Water and Sanitation for All, and they combine efforts to guarantee the human right to water and sanitation. 

Read the full report here: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/26392VNR_2020_Ecuador_Spanish.pdf 

*The information reflected on this page has been taken directly from the official VNR received from this Member State. The information does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations.