Learning to share the resource and the responsibility in an Andean watershed : demand for water threatens a unique ecological reserve in Ecuador

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Apprendre à partager les ressources et les responsabilités dans un bassin hydrographique des Andes : la demande d'eau menace une réserve écologique unique en ÉquateurSpanish version available in IDRC Digital Library: Aprendiendo a compartir el recurso y la responsabilidad en la cuenca andina : demanda de agua amenaza una reserva ecológica única en EcuadorWater shortages that ruined the crops of marginal farmers led to conflicts and a demand for increased water supply that threatened to destroy a unique ecological reserve in the Ecuadorian Andes. But participatory research showed that the real problems lay with management of the resource. Solutions required the people of the region to take responsibility for protecting the environment and to work together to conserve the resource