ACORDES

Prologue

JOSÉ EFRAÍN ASTUDILLO BANEGAS — 2025-02-11

The articles presented in this issue of the journal ACORDES correspond to the academic production of the students of the Master's program in Environmental Sciences and are the results of the module taught on Environmental Epistemology.

Excessive Use of Drinking Water in Cuenca, Ecuador: A General Systems Theory Approach

ANA CRISTINA ANDRADE-HERRERA — 2025-02-11

The city of Cuenca, Ecuador, faces a serious environmental challenge related to the excessive consumption of drinking water, which reaches 200 L/person/day, doubling the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO). This article analyzes this problem from the General Systems Theory (GST), identifying the interaction between the natural, social and infrastructural subsystems. It examines the dynamics of interdependence, feedback and emergent properties that generate significant risks for water sustainability projected to the year 2050, when a critical deficit is expected due to population growth and poor water use practices. Comprehensive systemic strategies are proposed that include ecosystem conservation, infrastructure modernization, and the promotion of responsible consumption patterns. This approach seeks to ensure the long-term sustainability of the city's water resources.

Sustaining Irrigation: The Role of Women in Rural Areas

KARINA BELÉN QUIZHPI — 2025-02-11

This article analyzes the role of women in the management of the irrigation system in the community of Chavay, Azogues canton, Ecuador. Based on focal and semi-structured interviews, it was identified that women, although invisible in decision-making spaces, lead key tasks such as system maintenance, water distribution and participation in community mingas. Their work is essential to ensure food security and community well-being, but they face barriers such as lack of time, limited access to technology and shyness to express their opinions. The study also highlights the positive impacts of their participation, such as improved system operation thanks to piped irrigation and the strengthening of social networks through complementary activities. However, challenges related to water quality persist, affecting health and the acceptance of agricultural products. It is concluded that strengthening women's leadership and improving the technical conditions of the system are key steps to ensure water and social sustainability in Chavay.

Solid waste in Huaquillas: The impact of anthropocentric thinking on the rights of nature

GÉNESIS HUALPA JAÉN — 2025-02-11

Solid waste management is a serious problem that has negative consequences for both the environment and human health. It is estimated that 2 million tons of solid waste are produced worldwide and its proper management is a major problem facing the population. In Ecuador, 117 of the country's municipalities adequately manage this waste; however, other municipalities, such as Huaquillas, have poor waste management. There is evidence of garbage on the riverbanks and in the canal that divides the border with Peru. This causes problems not only for the image of the area, but also negatively affects both the ecosystems and the population. When comparing this waste management with that used by countries in Europe and Asia, there is an abysmal difference. This is because these countries have a commitment on the part of the inhabitants and management strategies that guarantee a lower impact on the ecosystem and human health.

Importance of the Forest for the Achuar Nationality

DANING MONTAÑO-OCAMPO — 2025-02-11

The Achuar nationality of the Ecuadorian Amazon maintains a profound connection with the forest, seen as a living entity with intrinsic value, a source of sustenance, a spiritual center, and a foundation for community cohesion. Facing threats such as oil extraction, illegal logging, agricultural expansion, and climate change, the Achuar have implemented conservation strategies rooted in participatory governance, including territorial monitoring, sustainable projects, and community-based tourism. These practices, which integrate ancestral knowledge with modern approaches, have preserved their territories and way of life, offering a valuable model of sustainability and resilience in the face of a global environmental crisis.

El grito de la Naturaleza: El llamado al cumplimiento de sus derechos

CHRISTIAN NARANJO — 2025-02-11

Before opening the way of what was a long journey to conceive Nature as a subject of law, I consider it pertinent to quote some philosophical thoughts that throughout his life have shown that deep value and respect for Nature. In each of their pages they express with simple but profound words the cry of clamor to incarnate in humanity a biocentric ethic and break the utilitarian postures or better known as anthropocentrism.

The Struggle for Good Living: Resistance and Defense of the páramos against the advance of mining, the case of the Quimsacocha Recreation Area.

EMERSON BENAVIDES — 2025-02-11

In the Latin American peoples, the ancestral cultures that inhabit the region have consolidated coexistence practices that have been carried out under the framework of respect and consideration both among people and with their environment, where cordiality prevails and human values are amalgamated with the intrinsic value of nature and even the immaterial value of things.

Environmental Contamination in the Upano River: Impact of Volcanic Material in the Province of Morona Santiago

GERMANIA ORELLANA — 2025-02-11

Environmental pollution is one of the most important global problems, significantly affecting the health of ecosystems and human communities.According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021), around 90% of the world's population lives in areas where air quality does not meet international standards, contributing to respiratory problems and chronic diseases. For this reason, water bodies face increasing deterioration due to anthropogenic activity and natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions (Hernández et al., 2020).

Social metabolism of the post-neoliberal model (Alianza País period) of Ecuador (2006-2017)

BRYAN RAFAEL ROSERO ORTIZ — 2025-02-11

The concept of social metabolism analyzes the flows of materials and energy between society and the environment, evaluating human practices from a socioecological perspective. In Ecuador, the transition to a post-neoliberal model during Rafael Correa's government reconfigured this metabolism by prioritizing state intervention in the appropriation, transformation, and distribution of resources, promoting social justice and sustainability. The appropriation stage was characterized by the nationalization of strategic resources such as oil and investment in energy infrastructure, while the transformation stage focused on strengthening national development through redistributive policies and state planning. Circulation was institutionalized through the 2008 Constitution and social programs, ensuring access to basic services. However, the model showed shortcomings in the excretion stage, including economic dependence on China, environmental damage caused by extractivist policies such as the exploitation of Yasuní, and institutional corruption. Although the model made progress in social inclusion and territorial cohesion, its externalities highlight tensions between the goals of social justice and economic sustainability. The social metabolism of post-neoliberal Ecuador reflects both the achievements and limitations of an approach centered on equity.

Review: Pedagogy of exclusion

LUISA ALEJANDRINA PILLACELA-CHIN — 2025-02-11

Pedagogy of Exclusion (2004), the work coordinated by Pablo Gentili, is, as its subtitle indicates, a diatribe against neoliberalism in the educational scene. According to the author, neoliberalism is an incomplete current, which in economic terms has not succeeded in strengthening the established capitalism. Socially, neoliberalism has generated a markedly dissimilar society, but ideologically and politically it has managed to be accepted by people, who are governed, sometimes unwillingly, by its hegemonic laws.