Stop that cow: When Ecuadoran cities organize to protect water supplies

In the 1990's the city of Loja struggled with a diminishing and polluted water supply, a trouble that haunts cities all over the world as climate change makes water cycles unpredictable. Then a new water regulatory agency, FORAGUA was created, land use and micro-watersheds were investigated, writes Daniel Moss in his blog entry in National Geographic Society.

"Today, FORAGUA conserves thousands of hectares of watershed, enabling hundreds of thousands of people to drink clean, public water. The path has been neither quick nor pretty, marked by bee stings, cow manure and recalcitrant landowners. Unflinching persistence and smart management have characterized the agency's work in safeguarding water supplies. Their example is ripe for local adaptation – wade into your watershed and start organizing!" summs up Moss.

Daniel Moss has worked in community-based resource management in the U.S. and Latin America for 30 years.