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Tender description :
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Tenders Are Invited for Commissioning a study focused on the formulation of a comprehensive environmental management strategy for the strategic ecosystems of the Guayas River basin
The Guayas River Basin, covering approximately 34,500 km², is considered the most important river system on the South American Pacific slope and the vital axis of Ecuador's socioeconomic development. It encompasses eight provinces: Guayas, Los Ríos, Bolívar, Manabí, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Cañar, and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, forming a hydrographic system that supports strategic ecosystems—mangroves, wetlands, and tropical forests—essential for ecological connectivity and regional climate regulation.
However, the systemic functionality of the watershed faces a multidimensional crisis. Pollution from heavy metals (cadmium and others), resulting from industrial discharges and unsustainable agricultural practices, compromises the quality of the resource for consumption and export. Simultaneously, accelerated sedimentation—a consequence of deforestation and land-use change—has drastically reduced drainage capacity, exponentially increasing vulnerability to extreme hydrometeorological events. The effects of climate change, exacerbated by El Niño, have gone from being cyclical events to persistent threats that generate catastrophic floods and prolonged droughts. These factors not only affect the quality and quantity of available water, but also biodiversity, soil stability, and the socioeconomic well-being of the communities that depend on this resource.
In this context, CAF, through the Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity Management (GACBP), promotes initiatives aimed at the conservation of strategic ecosystems and the sustainable management of water resources in Ecuador; promoting in the Guayas River basin an integrated approach that combines the strengthening of the technical base, the consolidation of an institutional framework and strategic planning, including the design of financial mechanisms that ensure the viability and sustainability of the actions in the short, medium and long term.
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