Hydrological resources are of primary importance for the growth of life. Natural water sources stored in the mountains and in the subsoil nourish the hydrological cycle, subsidizing the loss of this resource to contamination, and thereby permitting equilibrium of the system.
The water cycle is generally considered to be an endless cycle; however we now know that this resource has limitations on the basis of its quality. The availability of water for human consumption has been significantly diminished due to the presence of contamination. Therefore, natural ecosystems that provide habitats for organisms responsible for water quality have been drastically altered.
These changes in aquatic environments are related to the increase of human activity. Use and consumption are not enemies of conservation; on the contrary it is the waste and abuse of water that have the greatest effects on a resource that is increasingly scarcer. The limitations on subsistence of primary ecosystems that harbor the greatest quantity of available water pose the greatest danger for the hydrological cycle.
Agreements in the management and conservation of water resources has allowed for the identification of the state of this recourse on a global level. The scarcity and complete absence of water in certain regions coincide with high death statistics on a general level. Locations with the greatest water production on the planet have also been located by the same means. Ecuador shelters one of the most complex and spectacular fresh water hydrological networks. From the Páramo to mangroves, passing through a series of life zones, the water nourishes the great diversity that especially inhabits the Andes as well as Amazonian regions.
The obligation of the community to value the importance of this resource leans towards participative management; to understand the interest in knowing the state of water quality, and exercise long term protection of the ecosystems that have allowed us to put this resource to good use. We would like invite all to establish their relationship with the protection of water, under the concept of conservation for life.
