New Study Measures Climate Change Vulnerability in Loja, Portoviejo and Santa Cruz

In the framework of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP 2021, CAF—development bank of Latin America—presented climate change vulnerability indexes and action plans for several cities in Latin America, including Portoviejo, Loja and Santa Cruz de Galápagos. The objective of the studies is to identify adaptation measures to address climate change, based on a vulnerability and sectoral and zonal climate risk analysis, considering the environmental, economic and social dimensions, in order to improve resilience of cities in face of extreme natural events due to climate change and climate variability, thus enabling adequate planning that minimizes vulnerability and final risk to people, their livelihoods and the environment.

In the case of Loja, the Vulnerability Index study helped detect the sectors of the municipality with the greatest risk in of being impacted by climate change, showing that climate threats are the triggers of severe impact chains such as flash floods and landslides caused by surface or underground runoff processes, as well as prolonged droughts and extreme heat waves, among others.  Thus, the vulnerability in Loja shows a marked upward trend in the northwestern and southern sectors, with more extreme values in the parishes of Carigán and Sucre, specifically, on the neighborhoods of Zalapa, Carigán and Bolonia. Regarding the adaptation objectives, the zonal and sectoral results based on the previous analysis helped identify 14 main vulnerability challenges that serve as input for the Adaptation Plan, which includes measures such as reforestation and restoration of water basins of the Loja basin, implementation of the dam system and sledge containment in the face of climate change, resilient management of household water, sustainable drainage systems, increase in green infrastructure, consolidation of an ecosystem network, among others.

For the city of Portoviejo, the analysis revealed that GHG emissions have been associated with demographic dynamics, due to the occupation of an increasingly larger area (urban growth) and a larger demand of resources (water, energy, fuels, etc.), with population being the variable most associated with GHG emissions. On the other hand, in terms of the climate risk of Portoviejo, the values show a very high trend in practically the entire area analyzed, with the exception of the central area, which has better infrastructure, housing and services, as well as a population with a higher level of education. In contrast, the northern and southern areas of the city show risks of heavy rains, droughts, temperatures increase and overall high temperatures. The diagnosis allowed the identification of the challenges and the main areas of improvement to achieve a more sustainable urban development of the city of Portoviejo, with lower GHG emissions and greater adaptability to climate change, through 22 measures covering governance, infrastructure and training.

On the other hand, the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos Archipelago shows a highly complex territorial matrix and houses a fragile “socio-ecosystem,” and the main challenge is to achieve a balanced and multidimensional territorial management model that ensures both the quality of life of its residents and the protection and conservation of their environmental values in the short, medium and long term. In this sense, the vulnerability assessment on the island of Santa Cruz shows a high incidence of human activities on land uses with significant rates of population and housing exposure that intensify in the medium and long term, as well as important social fragility that show inequality gaps, all exacerbated by climate change, with probable impacts on the island’s socioeconomic and environmental system. The adaptation measures in the plan developed for the city include: the implementation of a sanitation network in the urban areas of Santa Cruz, a management system of the drinking water supply network to ensure water sovereignty, single-family solutions for rainwater harvesting and green roofs, green spaces with climate design solutions in the urban area of Puerto Ayora, installation of sustainable drainage systems, facilities for resilient agriculture, among others.

The studies are part of the LAIF program on Cities and Climate Change in Latin America, an initiative of the European Union, implemented by the French Development Agency (AFD) and CAF—development bank of Latin America—, with the aim of promoting low-carbon, climate change resilient development in Latin American cities

Noteworthy is that the studies were based on valuable local participation in socialization, identification, awareness-raising activities and appropriation of results. Workshops were held in all cities with representatives of state, regional and local agencies, including: Municipalities, National Risk Management Secretariat, National Meteorology and Hydrology Institute, Ministry of Public Health, Fire Department, Ministry of Environment, Emergencias Ecuador, Ministry of Transport and Public Works, National Police, Water Secretariat, Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Provincial Governments, Universities, among others.