Ecuador - Quito

​​The Urban Pathways Implementation Tracker is tracking the Projects Progress 

Quito
Urban Pathways has been working with Quito, the capital and largest city of Ecuador, since 2018. City officials participated in a series of capacity building events including the Academy of Sustainable Urban Mobility (AoSUM) 2018 and 2019. Direct support has been provided in topics related to EcoDistricts and nature-based solutions (NBS). In the Cities Forum on Sustainable Urban Infrastructure, organised jointly by Urban Pathways, the Sustainable Intermediate Cities Program of GIZ Ecuador and the local authorities in January 2019 in Quito, city officials from 10 Latin American cities including UP pilot and replication cities (Belo Horizonte, Aguascalientes, Quito, Cuenca and Ibagué) were invited to share their experiences on mobility, energy and resources. Finally, in February 2019 a city representative participated in the e-mobility planning workshop, where the pilot project below was developed and is currently being implemented. Further cooperation possibilities related to the development of EcoZones in three neighbourhoods of Quito, as well as waste management activities have been identified.

Pilot and Demonstration Action
Multimodal e-mobility hub
The multimodal e-mobility hub to be implemented in Quito will be carried out in the Historic Centre of Quito (HCQ), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which aims to become a low- emission zone (LEZ), primarily accessed by clean public transport vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles. In order to improve passenger connectivity and last mile deliveries in the area, small electric vehicles (2-, 3-, and 4-wheelers) will be assembled locally with European components provided by SOL+ industry partners such as Valeo. In this context, the multi-modal e-mobility hub to be established will contribute to the consolidation of the planned LEZ in the HCQ and the integration of the existing mass transit lines (BRT and subway). The hub will take advantage of the existing electric infrastructure of the trolleybus and the subway systems in the area to create multimodal charging points / stations. A distribution centre and a logistics plan that identifies the best routes for deliveries will also be outcomes of the demonstration activities.
The proposed demonstration project concept was submitted on 25 April 2019 as a part of EC H2020 proposal for funding. It will be implemented by SOLUTIONSplus project (project duration 01/2020 – 12/2023) together with local public transport operators.
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Estimated budget: € 1,500,000
Estimated direct GHG emission reduction: 3,000 tCO2/year

Outlook: Planned and/or Possible Future Action
An inclusive Low- emissions Zone (LEZ)
Understanding that the Historic Centre of Quito (HCQ) has always been a disputed space with a high social complexity, the proposed project recognises that the promotion of bike-lanes, pedestrian areas and e-mobility corridors that will be embedded in the LEZ also requires increased social acceptance of various interest groups and an inclusive allocation of different uses of spaces in the centre of Quito. The project will develop a demonstration solution of an adaptive design, which transforms a delimited area (street/surroundings of a metro or BRT station) into a space where transportation, leisure and trading functions are shared. The key component of the project includes the engagement with street vendors through a co-productive process with an intention of their gradual integration and regularisation in these kinds of multi- functional spaces.
The project outcomes will include:

• Increased social acceptance for the transformation of public spaces in the HCQ into zones of non-motorised transportation,
• Engaged street vendors into redevelopment process,
• Increased livelihood opportunities for vendors and set regularisation mechanism
• Increased commuters’ safety
• Proposed adaptive design solution for shared urban spaces

​Estimated budget: 70,000 EUR
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Comparative EcoZones
Three neighbourhoods in Quito have been identified jointly with local counterparts as possible pilots for the implementation of EcoZones.

On-going activities in the mobility and waste sectors
Improving walkability, road safety and public space
The Territory and Housing Secretariat (STHV) in collaboration with the Mobility Secretariat (SM) of the Municipality of Quito (MDMQ) are working on the regulations necessary to implement traffic calming measures, including Zones 30, citywide. Moreover, the STHV is working on the urban design of the surroundings of the subway stations to improve
the walkability and multimodality of them before it starts operations at the end of 2020. Thus, the MDMQ has identified neighbourhoods, which can serve as pilots to showcase the measures, raise awareness and gain the necessary visibility and public acceptance to implement them citywide.
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Composting & separation at the source
The capital of Ecuador produces more than 2000 tons of waste per day. Understanding that most of the collected waste goes untreated to landfills and that organic waste accounts for more than 60 % of the produced waste in Quito, the need to implement measures to separate at source, recycle, reuse and compost is huge. In this context, discussions with the Environment Secretariat (SA) and the local Fundación Epicentre and ReciVeci have been held to work at the neighbour- hood level and thus complement and boost the measures that the SA is currently implementing. Four key actions have been identified that could be implemented depending on the neighbourhood:
1) Composting boxes for the residents,
2) Community composting facilities,
3) Composting at schools,
​4) Separation at source pilots.

The selected neighbourhoods
1. Iñaquito Neighbourhood
The Iñaquito neighbourhood is located in the core of the Central Business District (CBD) of Quito, also home to La Caro- lina Park. The Architects Association (Colegio de Arquitectos), one of the neighbours of the area in partnership with the Municipality are willing to turn the area into a traffic calming zone using the tools of tactical urbanism. Urban Pathways will - together with the NGO Epicentre - integrate to this launch of the ZONE 30 a training and educational programme on recycling practices and composting in neighborhood offices. In order to make the circularity of composting visible, the participating company will sponsor a public space, which will be recovered as an urban green patch for the city, using the compost generated as input. The participation of grassroots recyclers will be integrated into the project by integrat- ing them as qualified managers of the compost produced, working hand in hand with Reci Veci. They will be in charge of handling the product generated. The Chamber of Commerce has been approached already and is highly interested to join the pilot.

​Estimated budget: 10,000 EUR
Estimated direct GHG emissions reduction: 16 tCO2/year

San Enrique de Velasco
The San Enrique de Velasco Neighbourhood is located in the North West area of Quito. It is a peripheral neighbourhood, originally an informal settlement, where low-income households live. Due to its highly engaged community and its geographic location, this neighbourhood has been selected by the SA for the implementation of the EU-funded project CLEVER Cities: Co-designing Locally tailored Ecological solutions for Value added inclusivE Regeneration in Cities. The implementation of a Zone 30 could complement the work in the area very well. As in the Inaquito neighbourhood (above) Urban Pathway seeks to build local capacity in recycling and composting practices by providing training and educational workshops in the neighborhood. In order to make the circularity of composting visible, a green space is being recovered as a community park, which will be recovered as an urban green patch for the city and as a collection point for recyclable waste and neighborhood composting for organic waste. This space will also serve to strengthen the social fabric of the neighborhood, building a strong identity of community and belonging.
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Estimated budget: 15,000 EUR
Estimated direct GHG emissions reduction: 13 tCO2/year

La Tola Neighbourhood
La Tola is located on the eastern side of HCQ and it is mainly a residential neighborhood with several local comercial ac- tivities, a tourist area and nearby a public market and it is a passage area for people going to the HCQ. Thus, the Tandem Foundation and Aves & Conservación, two local NGOs, in cooperation with the neighbours association aim at implementing a pilot EcoZone in La Tola neighborhood as an area of reduced emissions and waste through active neighbors participation and urban biodiversity conservation.These activities will consider nature based solutions using native plants and recycled materials to increase green spaces to mitigate the impact of high temperatures, capture pollution, and act as carbon sinks, while enhancing urban biodiversity.

​Estimated budget: 15,000 EUR
Estimated direct GHG emissions reduction: 15 tCO2/year

Development of “Circular Quito” Strategy
Quito is planning to develop a Circular Economy Strategy. The Urban Pathway project will assist with strategy and action plan development and support proposal writing in order to get the needed funds for the strategy development.
The circular roadmap will be a framework to be downscaled to a city level. It aims to meet specific targets such as the national NDC, as well as to reach an efficient waste management and recycling system. The holistic vision of a CE applied model is a tool to catalyse the transition to a biobased economy, enabling the ecosystem management in urban regions.

Estimated budget: 2 - 5 million EUR

E-waste management in Quito: an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) pilot
With an annual growth of 2 million tonnes, e-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams globally. Latin America faces several challenges toward an integrated sustainable e-waste management. The most relevant are the lack of specific regulatory frameworks, inappropriate activities performed by the informal sector, and weak e-waste management systems. Some countries have aligned their regulatory frameworks with the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR). However, the adoption of the EPR principle as state policy has faced difficulties due to particularities of the countries, varying in terms of scope, range, type, and funding mechanisms. As for Ecuador, it counts on constitutional dispositions about environmental issues, a specific environmental law which incorporates a normative of EPR, and ministry agreements on e-waste.
To address these challenges, the project aims to implement a pilot EPR scheme for e-waste in the City of Quito, embed- ded in the Circular Quito Strategy developed under the Urban Pathways Project. The pilot will have the support of strategic partners all along the e-waste supply chain (from policy formulation to waste disposal), engaging the municipality, local private sector, informal sector.
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The concept will be submitted to the PREVENT Waste Alliance Call for Solutions in June of 2020. Estimated budget: 100,000 - 200,000 EUR

Food Waste Reduction
In order to also initiate activities that do start at an earlier stage (not waste treatment but waste prevention) the Urban Pathways project would like to support the City of Quito to implement some measures for food waste reduction. This includes awareness raising activities and small pilots with businesses in e.g. Inaquito neighbourhood (where one of the EcoZones will be implemented) and restaurants to incentivise consumers to take their leftovers, rather than throwing it away.
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Estimated budget: 3,000 EUR

Summary Ecuador
In its Intended National Determined Contributions, Ecuador commits to reduce by 2025 its emissions in the energy sector in 20,4% - 25% below the 2011 levels. The government states that with the proper availability of resources and support from the international community, Ecuador could reduce its emissions in the sector in up to 45,8% (Ecuadorian Government, 2015).
According to the National GHG Inventory, in 2012 Ecuador produced 80.627 Gg CO2-eq, representing only 0,15% globally. Latin America generates 11% of the total GHG emissions. The sources of GHG emissions in Ecuador are, in order of importance, the energy sector (47%), Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) (25%), agriculture (18%), industry (5%) and waste (4%) (MAE, 2017). The energy sector produced 37.594,03 GgCO2-eq in 2012, which accounts for 47% of national emissions. Between 1994 and 2012 the GHG emissions of this sector increased in 151%. Transport is the most pollutant subsector with 46% of the sector emissions and 21% of national emissions. It is followed by the energy industry with 32% (MAE, 2017).