EcoLogic believes that the people who live near or in a threatened ecosystem are best positioned to repair and protect that system for the long-term.  For seventeen years, EcoLogic has acted on that belief, collaborating with the rural poor in Central America and Mexico to build their capacity as environmental stewards.  EcoLogic works to help them acquire the skills and support needed to conserve and restore the tropical ecosystems where they live and on which they rely for clean air, water and other basic necessities.


Their work in northern Honduras is a good example of how they help local people protect watersheds and improve water access and management.  When Daniel Escobar, EcoLogic’s field technical officer, first visited Santiago Arriba in 2009, he found a simple water tank and a piping system delivering water to this community of about 150 people.  However, the water was of poor quality and much of the delivery system was in disrepair, in part because only 40 percent of the families were paying to maintain the service and only one person “acted” as both the local plumber and treasurer. 

Daniel identified key community leaders and with their help gained broad support for improving water management.  As a community they instituted a water board of three plumbers, a treasurer and a president.  The board took responsibility for operations and maintenance, regularly cleaning the cistern and beginning repairs on the water delivery system.  Now more than 85 percent pay for water services and plans are underway to do reforestation and protection work in the watershed itself.

In the town of San Marcos, Daniel and other staff provided technical training and support, formally mapping the watershed and submitting the records to the national government.  With this information, the government was able to improve forest conservation and protection.

In other towns in this project area, children at local schools plant and tend tree seedlings which will be used to reforest critical watershed areas.  This also provides the chance to teach kids about ecosystems and the interconnectedness of water, trees and air and the fragility of the environment.  Daniel reports that these educational activities have given rise to many enthusiastic young conservationists.

These are just a few examples of the specific ways they work to help people find solutions to water problems.  In March, EcoLogic won an international competition prize, a $50,000 award from insurer SwissRe of Switzerland, in recognition of their water work at a site in Honduras. To find out more about the awarded project and other EcoLogic water work, please visit their website.

This post was prepared for GWC by Chris Patterson, Program Officer for Institutional Development at EcoLogic.