Water resources and urban sustainability in growing latin american cities. Case study of santo domingo de los colorados, ecuador

Resumen

Urbanization is a multidimensional process that combines population growth, land use change, and the modification of the urban-rural relationship. Urbanization intensifies the interactions between citizens and the surrounding areas, driven by the growth in the number of inhabitants, and the increased demand on natural resources. All these factors, along with anthropogenic activities, modify the environment directly and indirectly. As a result, water-related problems generate specific challenges for urban management. The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the issue of water sustainability of Latin American growing cities, and to critically test an approach to enhance water resource management in local contexts. The dissertation has three parts. First, it identifies water-related challenges that growing cities must face to achieve urban water sustainability. To this end, an analysis of the literature reveals eleven key issues and their interactions. Based on these interactions, a new operational approach is proposed to understand water as a holistic element intertwined in urban areas, as well as to assess water sustainability. Second, the water accounts are integrated into the discussion on urban sustainability in growing cities. For this purpose, the dissertation implements the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for Water (SEEA-Water) at urban level, compiling data from multiple sources. This constitutes a pioneering work. The case study of Santo Domingo de los Colorados in Ecuador serves to illustrate how the SEEA-Water underpins informed decision-making on the urban water management. Third, on the basis of the empirical work, the usefulness of the SEEA-Water was critically evaluated as a framework to address water-related challenges in the case of growing cities. This dissertation contributes to the debate on water cycle and urban sustainability by introducing the SEEA-Water framework at an urban level, reinforcing the links between the study of economic, environment and social issues, as well as the understanding of the water as a holistic issue cross-linked in urban areas. The results reveal key elements of unsustainability and their interactions, regarding urban water management. The dissertation reveals specific connections between decisions at the city level and key issues of water management. Urban water management requires integration, and the proposed approach provides guidance on how such integration can be achieved. All in all, the thesis underpins the use of water accounts at urban level to support decision-making processes and public policies on water resources in growing cities to advance towards urban water sustainability.