Biodiversity and Watershed Management in the Condor Bioreserve,Ecuador

Abstract

The Condor Bioreserve Watershed Protection Area is a project of The Nature Conservancy of Ecuador that seeks sustainable management of the Area for both biodiversity conservation and watershed production. The management problem is how to ensure that both these objectives are met while simultaneously meeting the diverse needs of the large and growing populations within and adjacent to the Area. For example, metropolitan Quito, a city of three million, depends on the Area's water. Conflict exists over the use of the watershed and the biodiversity within it. The chief threat is overusing biodiversity-destroying it by turning the watershed into a water factory for urban and agricultural uses. Incompatible interests, present competition and conflict must be ameliorated and foreseeable problems avoided in order to conserve biodiversity while meeting the needs of the human population. In this chapter the (1) Area's biodiversity and watershed issues are introduced, (2) the human context (social and decision processes that make up its management) are described, and (3) three common management options are explored to address problems. The first option is agreement on explicit goals, the second is obtaining and utilizing better science, and the third is using a practice-based approach. These options are evaluated for their potential to reduce conflict and realize goals. A practice-based approach is recommended because it makes the most of the limited human capacity to understand and address very complex problems. This approach can simultaneously address the biodiversity and watershed management challenge, inform and improve decision-making, and help find principles of successful ecosystem management. Unlike the two other management strategies, a practice-based approach incorporates moral, scientific, and practical considerations in management and policy decisions. A practice-based approach facilitates achievement of the dual goals of protecting biodiversity and watershed function and production.