Page 70 - Ecuador's Banana Sector under Climate Change

ecuador’s banana sector under climate change: an economic and biophysical assessment to promote a sustainable and climate-compatible strategy
such as agriculture, water resources, fisheries, infrastructure and tourism. The effects of climate change, including the increased frequency and intensity of
El Niño and La Niña, combined with deep pockets of food insecurity and poverty require Ecuador to develop sound planning and replicable implementation models to address the threats of climate change. Although Ecuador is an oil exporting country, there remain large disparities in living conditions and access to opportunities.
3.1 The retreat of glaciers
The retreat of glaciers in recent years has been significant - 20 to 30 percent loss of ice mass in the last 30 years. High mountain agro-ecosystems in Ecuador are exposed to cyclical drought; thus, glacier runoff is critical for providing mountain communities with reliable water sources and sustainable livelihoods. Likewise, coastal and estuarine ecosystems along the Pacific Coast and the Guayas River Estuary are especially exposed to rising sea levels, as are the settlements in the low-lying coastal areas. These zones are affected by increased coastal erosion, tidal surges and flooding. They are particularly prone to salt water intrusion, and aquifiers are especially vulnerable to changes in groundwater quality.
Over the past few years, increasing social conflict surrounding water resources and watershed management in Ecuador have led to a growing public debate surrounding the need for policy reform in the water resources sector. The current baseline in Ecuador is characterized by:
i. a dispersed water governance arrangement, leading to increased competition and conflict over scarce resources;
ii. lack of coherence between national climate information and local/regional end users, as most water-use permits are issued, regardless of the state of water resources;
iii. lack of financial and technical resources for community-based users to improve their adaptive capacities or implement innovative water management approaches; and
iv. insufficient generation of knowledge and its dissemination relating to climate- related risks or threats.
3.2 The threat of climate change to Ecuador’s agriculture
Unlike countries at middle latitudes, Ecuador has two seasons a year: a rainy and a dry season. Increasingly, Ecuador suffers from a range of natural disasters, including floods, droughts, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Reoccurring floods and droughts are also intensifying in severity.
Two climate-linked challenges face Ecuador’s agriculture. The first is having water in adequate quantity and quality for the production and post-harvest processes, such as washing, which requires significant amounts of water. Banana cultivation depends substantially on water irrigation due to the fact that the precipitation rate of the production area does not meet the requirements of the crop. This also requires policy proposals on how best to handle the distribution of this key resource in times of shortage and crises that can arise from a decrease in
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