Left, right and centre – Policy note n°3 – Knowledge co-production, ecosystem services and water conservation: negotiating the plurinational water fud in the Ecuadorian Highlands

This transdisciplinary analysis combines semi-structured interviews with leaders from the Confederation of the Kayambi People, the Institute of Ecology and Development of Cayambe (IEDECA) and the local government of Cayambe; a survey of local perceptions of ecosystem services and water justice; and water quality measurements from two climatic seasons. The authors argue that the co-production of knowledge on water conservation between indigenous communities, local and national governments and private companies, within the framework of the creation of the Plurinational Water Fund, is the result of the negotiation of contested worldviews.

This policy brief reveals that while some water values can be co-produced and negotiated, other ones remain in tension and resistance, complicating the construction and approval of the Plurinational Water Fund in the Kayambi territory. It sets four sets of recommendations that would help moving forward with currently paralyzed negotiations of the Fund.