Sustainable Development Model from an economic, social, and agroecological perspective in the Amazon Region:: A case study of Yantzaza, Ecuador

In recent years, sustainable development has emerged as a topic of great interest and part of the agenda of different countries of the world. The different stakeholders have been concerned about this issue, which has brought extensive international debates and different summits since Rio de Janeiro in 1992. A literature review of this concept indicates some general ideas framed in four dimensions, which are accepted at the international level: the economic, social, environmental and institutional. There were problems related to the high levels of poverty in rural areas linked to environmental degradation, as well as the confusion that exists within the concept of economic development, e.g. taking into account sustainability and participation. It is also important to consider if these inconsistencies are affecting public policy decisions not only international, but also local ones. Within this context, the purpose of this study was to develop a practical methodology to evaluate the sustainability of farms through the creation of indicators in South of the Ecuadorian Amazon. For this reason, the Zamora Chinchipe province and Municipality of Yantzaza were chosen. With this methodology, we hope to implement the concept of sustainability as a fundamental element of support for the governance of this area. Our methodology is based on the calculation of twelve indicators with three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental). Twenty -eight sub-indicators were used to determine the general indicators. Our results were able to demonstrate that there is a great heterogeneity of farms. In addition, it shows the serious management problem that exists at the farms by the farmers based on the dimensions studied. Apart from these economic problems, weak social structures and an inadequate management of the agro-ecological reality were observed. All this information can help to improve the existing public policies, with the sole aim of improving the sustainability in the sector. After becoming familiar with the diagnosis of the area, it was important to generate more homogeneous groups of farms. This allowed us to have a better view of the decisions previously made. Three types of farms were determined: self-sufficiency, business and livestock. On the one hand, this paper aims to develop a sustainable proposal for rural development. And on the other hand, it aims to generate livelihood strategies adopted by farm households. There were proposed strategies based on three dimensions, thus solving the theoretical problem of the diagnosis. “Twenty-four strategies have been proposed”. Each of them has the detail of intervention and above all strong consolidated institutional support. All these strategies were transferred to the communities through agricultural extension programs, which were developed in situ. For this, 3 different transfer methods were used according to the reality and dynamics of each parish. Thus, the results of the transfer have permeated community organizations through the establishment of partnerships and through enhancing existing ones. Also, public institutions have createdprojects that were established withinin the proposed themes. The Private Technical University of Loja has implemented a program called SmartLand, which has as its basic premise the generation of information and the development of projects to conserve the natural environment and also to accompany communities in the medium and long term