Indicators of water use in a dry area of the Central Andes in Ecuador. Study of the Ambato river watershed

Abstract

Indicators of water use in a dry area of the Central Andes in Ecuador. Study of the Ambato river watershed.

The use of different indicators in drylands is a fundamental tool in the process of assessing the water situation. Sector and inter-sector diagnosis starts with the treatment of data, and it becomes necessary to define factors and processes appropriate for assessing the current issues. There are restrictions as to the selection of indicators because of the quality and type of the information available, and indicators regarded as outstanding are those having reference values adjusted through field works and being representative of the process to be evaluated. Each indicator  can  vary  between  minimum  and  maximum  values,  and  benchmarks  evaluation  determines  the  indicator’s  margin  of  inflection. Application of the margins of inflection of the selected indicators to the regional context generates a wide array of situations. In the present study, key indicators were selected to be used in dry areas of the Ambato watershed (Ecuador), with the aim of contributing to create a reference  methodological  framework  to  assess  water  in  Iberian  America. In addition,  environmental,  hydrological,  administrative  and socioeconomic indicators used in Latin America by diverse institutions, programs and authors were identified and grouped. Assessment and characterization of the studied watershed were accomplished by applying these key indicators.