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The Santa Elena province in Ecuador has outstanding geological potential in petroleum, mining and geosite resources. All the wealth of palaeontological samples and their inherent link to the history of this territory require a recognised museum with educational and scientific material to support the potential and promotion of geotourism development. The Megatherium Palaeontological Museum is located in this province and was the first Palaeontological Museum in Ecuador. It exhibits samples corresponding to the Late Pleistocene Megafauna that inhabited the area. This study aims to evaluate the museum (a geoheritage element) as a possible (palaeontological) geosite by analysing its contributions to the geoheritage of the Santa Elena province. Thus, we also aim to enhance the geotourism of the area and promote its collections as a geotouristic attraction. The methodological process was based on: (i) information processing and systematisation in the museum and its environment, (ii) assessment of the museum’s geological interest through the method of the Geological Survey of Spain, the Brilha method and the Geosites Assessment Model, and (iii) a qualitative evaluation using the Delphi and the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats methodologies to define strategies and proposals for museum development. Based on the results of the applied quantitative assessment, the museum has a “very high” (277/400) degree of geological interest, due to the high values of scientific (310/400), academic (310/400) and touristic (210/400) interest. In this same way, the results obtained through the Brilha method reflect a high scientific (290/400), educational (280/400), and tourist (315/400) interest and a low degradation risk (190/400) value in the museum. Furthermore, the applied Geosites Assessment Model shows the museum as a geosite with high main and additional values, placing it between the Z23 and Z33 fields of the global valuation matrix. The evaluation approached through Delphi analysis and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats matrix allowed us to propose improvement strategies to take advantage of the museum resources as an alternative that strengthens the geotouristic development of the area.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the life of human beings. In rural areas, water supply and wastewater management are a survival challenge. They must be supported by universities sensitive to the current reality in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in its numeral 6, water and sanitation. In rural areas across the “Santa Elena” province, due to the isolation generated, communication was affected, especially sectors such as “Libertador Bolivar”, a dry-semi-arid zone located in the coastal area of Ecuador, which has access to drinking water collected from an aquifer through the service provided by the local entities. However, few know about its uses, benefits, and the maintenance that these systems require. The present study aims to validate communication methods, through the transmission of messages about the use and care of water in times of COVID-19. The methodology to follow is: i) potable and wastewater research, ii) surveys to measure knowledge about drinking water and sanitation, iii) preparation of diffusion material, iv) dissemination of messages through different digital media, and v) monitoring of social networks. It found that the Libertador Bolivar sector has a significant deficiency internet access, considering that only 8 out of 40 students at elementary school can receive virtual classes, and not necessarily through a computer, but through mobile devices;therefore, the most effective method for the information transmission were social media. Then, it proceeded to create an Instagram and Facebook page. In 4 weeks, 589 followers obtained on Facebook and 185 on Instagram, as well as significant interactions with this topic, mainly because a drought occurred (Presence of the climatic phenomenon “La Nina”) that aggravated the emergency to all the inhabitants. Finally, in times of pandemic, an excellent method of communication and diffusion are the social networks, due to its easy accessibility, which reflected in the resilience of interaction in the community. © 2021 WIT Press.

The inventory and assessment of a geosite in a territory provides a sound basis for the protection and use of its geological heritage. This article aims to evaluate the most relevant geosites in the province of Chimborazo (Ecuador), applying the Spanish Inventory of Sites of Geological Interest (IELIG, in Spanish) method, and proposing alternatives for geotourism development in the studied area. The methodological process was based on: (i) the inventory and preliminary selection of geosites, (ii) a semi-quantitative geosite assessment and proposal of travel itineraries for geotourism, and (iii) the application of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) matrix to establish geotourism development strategies within a framework of sustainability. The global assessment of scientific, tourist, and academic interests demonstrates that 25% of the 20 evaluated geosites have very high interest and 75% have high interest. The top three geosites with the highest degrees of interest are the Chimborazo Volcano, known as ‘Earth’s Closest Point to the Sun’, the Pallatanga geological fault, and the geosite named Comunidad Cacha. The SWOT analysis reveals that travel itineraries that combine cultural heritage elements and geosites could offer a real alternative for the region’s sustainable development through geotourism.

Santa Elena Peninsula is characterized by beautiful geological features, historical geoscientific knowledge, and mineral and tourism resources that could all be combined for the sake of community development. This article provides an overview of the Santa Elena Peninsula Geopark Project through the assessment of six areas that are considered by inhabitants and researchers possible geosites to foster geotourism. The methodology included: (i) a technical description and assessment of the areas of interest evaluating their geological relevance, representativeness, geotouristic prominence, geotouristic scientific interpretation, and conservation criteria, (ii) an assessment through questionnaires carried out on inhabitants, and (iii) a SWOT Plus analysis to propose strategies for promoting geotourism. Results show that the areas of interest are highly valued as geosites, since they integrate geodiversity, biodiversity, and sociocultural aspects. For example, Ancon is a historical icon of early oil exploitation, Ba&ntilde, os de San Vicente is a natural spring of thermal water and mud volcano, and Anconcito has bituminous exudations of natural occurrence together with a spectacular landscape produced by erosion. Overall, 90% of these sites were proved to be of high and very high interest in scientific terms. Geotourism is believed to be beneficial for the inhabitants of the Santa Elena Peninsula with respect to education, valorization of resources, and the strengthening of cultural identity of communities.

The enhancement of heritage resources helps to promote conservation, contributes to more significant and better protection, and favors the efficient use of these resources. Many heritage works and liabilities linked to mining activity are abandoned, causing the deterioration of heritage resources that may become environmental liabilities over time. This work aims to develop strategies for the development of the Mining-Industrial heritages through participatory methods for geomining enhancement and development of places in the Zaruma-Portovelo area. The proposed methodology consists of: (i) The creation and development of a database with several publications and documents that register the Mining-Industrial heritage sites; (ii) The assessment of mining-industrial sites based on criteria or methodologies proposed by other authors; (iii) Focal group work considering: (a) The identification and cataloging geosites of interest, (b) The creation and/or development of museums, tourist mines, mineral routes or geoparks in which the natural and geological-mining factors complement each other and (iv) SWOT analysis and matrix which provides several strategies for value-making of geomining heritage and its promotion in the development of geotourism in a project proposal for Zaruma and its surroundings. In conclusion, this work includes twelve unified mining sites in the Proposal for Geopark ‘Ruta del Oro,’ as a strategy to guarantee the conservation of heritage values and contribute to local development and geotourism.

A socio-ecological system describes dynamics and interactions between society and ecosystems, through social, economic, and ecological processes that influence the state of natural resources. The aim of this paper is to describe the socio-ecological system of Manglaralto through participatory action research in order to understand human ecodynamics and the perception of beneficiaries about ecosystem services focus to the planning of a participatory ecofuture scenario for Manglaralto. The sustainable management of the Manglaralto coastal aquifer has been identified as a key activity. The key stakeholders involved in the socio-ecological system of Manglaralto are the population of rural community, the Manglaralto Regional Drinking Water Management Board, associations, and economic activities, highlighting the tourism. Agriculture ceased to be the most important economic activity in Manglaralto. Its inhabitants have strengthened other economic activities such as small businesses of buying and selling, fishing, and tourism because of its coastal geographical location and the natural and cultural attractions of great tourist potential that it has. A future is glimpsed based on the sustainable use of ecosystem services such as water and tourism.

Universities have the mission to serve society by being pragmatic, diverse, and multidisciplinary. Similar to society in general, these centers have a common challenge: finding a way to articulate projects that favor the demands and needs of vulnerable rural sectors. In this case, the community-university partnership is based on the interaction of the Manglaralto population, represented by the Junta Administradora del Agua Potable Regional de Manglaralto and the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), both from Ecuador. Specifically, it is based on a collaborative relationship since 2005, through the Centro de Investigación y Proyectos Aplicados a Ciencias de la Tierra (CIPAT) of the ESPOL. This work aims to evaluate the community-university partnership through the results obtained in community work projects. In addition, it describes the resolution of problems reached on the sustainability of water resources in the parish of Manglaralto (Ecuador). The methodology was based on (i) the description of the existing community-university interaction framework, (ii) the analysis of the community projects that CIPAT developed in the period 2017–2020, and finally, (iii) the evaluation of the impact of the actions carried out on the sustainability of the coastal aquifer. The community-university partnership has generated relevant information (e.g., water reserves, extraction processes, aquifer recharge, and care of the resource) for the community and has allowed for the strengthening and transmitting of knowledge in different specialties (education, culture, and environment). In the 2017–2020 period, four community projects were carried out with students, researchers, and the inhabitants of the rural area of Manglaralto. These projects allowed wells for water extraction and engineering structures such as dikes and green filters that help the use and recharge the aquifer. In addition, the initiatives carried out made it possible to inform the population of the importance of the sustainable exploitation of water resources. In general, this work made it possible to identify a natural laboratory of human interaction in which the results obtained are based on the collaboration and contribution of all the participating actors.

Travel itineraries are fundamental in the development of tourism of a given area. Traditional thematic routes (e.g., architectural, archaeological) can be significantly improved and optimized by including geological and mining interest sites. The present study offers an analysis of the influence that inclusion of geosites or mining sites could have on the existing routes of the Zaruma-Portovelo region (Ecuador), together with a global assessment of these itineraries as the basis of fostering local development in communities of the region. The methodology consists of the following stages: (i) compilation of existing travel itineraries, (ii) analysis and assessment of those geosites and mining sites that are included in two geotouristic routes through the Spanish Inventory of Places of Geological Interest method (IELIG, acronym in Spanish), but have not been assessed previously, (iii) assessment of existing routes (two geotouristic routes and one geomining route) from a global perspective through the Geotouristic Route Assessment Matrix method (GtRAM, acronym in Spanish), and (iv) definition of strategies for the development and promotion of travel itineraries within the context of geotourism. According to the results of quantitative assessment, three new sites (both geosites and mining sites) were studied and their obtained score of interest was “High” (164/400). The existing routes achieved good results both from the geological-mining perspective “High” score of (189/400) and within a global context “Very High” score of (3.5/5). The quantitative assessment allowed us to propose improvement strategies to disseminate and use these itineraries to unfold sustainable development based on geotourism.

Resilience has several meanings, among them the ability to overcome difficulty and return to the state of providing service, even if the initial conditions change. Assessing resilience in an ecosystem, or any system, requires a concise methodology with standard variables and parameters. The current challenge presented by coastal areas is focused on overcoming problems related to the water supply through correct management. This paper aims to evaluate the communal coastal aquifer system with a matrix for assessing water resilience based on indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a socio-hydrological framework and the four axes of development (political, social, environmental, and cultural), to promote the development of new strategies for water sustainability. The method is based on (i) political, economic, social, environmental, and even cultural aspects involved in sustainable water management and (ii) the groundwater resilience assessment method (GRAM) design. The GRAM is used for a quasi-quantitative assessment of the resilience in a communal coastal aquifer system. This method was applied to the Manglaralto community, the results show a highly resilient groundwater system (62.33/100 points). Representatives of the community have achieved appropriate use, management, and conservation of the water resource by applying water harvesting and other technical criteria. Hence, they have avoided aquifer overexploitation and provided water to the community.

This study offers a detailed assessment of the geosites and mining sites present in the Zaruma-Portovelo mining district (Ecuador) through their qualitative and quantitative assessment. It shows up the potentiality of this area taking advantage of its geological-mining heritage. The methodological process includes: (i) compilation and inventory of all the sites within the study area with particular geological or mining interest, (ii) preparation of reports and thematic cartography, (iii) assessment and classification of the elements of geological-mining interest, (iv) SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and TOWS (Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Strengths) matrix preparation seeking strategies to guarantee the viability of geotourism. A total of 16 sites of geological interest and 11 of mining interest were identified. The 77% of these sites was proved to be of high and very high interest in scientific terms. Likewise, their susceptibility to degradation assessed from their vulnerability and fragility was found to be high or very high in the 30% of the cases. As for the protection priority, all the studied sites obtained a medium-high result. Finally, the study based on the SWOT-TOWS revealed the possibility of applying action strategies in order to facilitate the compatibility of geotourism with the current productive activities, despite the difficult situation in the study area created by mining activities.