The Machángara is the main river in Quito and was recently declared a subject of rights. The tributary runs through the country’s capital from north to south, over a distance of 20 kilometers, making it a symbolic reference point for its nearly three million inhabitants. Now its name joins six other rivers that have been declared as subjects of nature rights in Ecuador.
In May 2024, a citizen group filed a lawsuit for a protection action — a constitutional legal remedy existing in Ecuador — arguing that the contamination of the river violated the rights to the body of water, as well as to the human communities that live with it. In addition, they requested short, medium and long-term measures to address the problem of pollution of the river and its 54 streams and creeks.
And the Machángara has been used as a dumping ground for Quito’s waste. Of the water it receives, 99% is residual and only 1% is treated. Furthermore, the river only carries oxygen levels of 2%, due to pollution, while in some places in the Amazon the waters have levels of up to 80%.
On July 5, 2024, the Criminal Court based in the Parish of Iñaquito in the District of Quito attended to the demand of the citizen group and declared the Machángara River as a subject of rights to protect it, for which it ordered actions to decontaminate it.
Despite the euphoria generated by the court’s decision, the municipality of Quito and its mayor do not seem so enthusiastic, since the city appealed the decision, so the process will continue in a new stage.
As the country awaits the final text of the ruling, Mongabay Latam spoke with three experts who have worked to defend the river.
Darío Iza, president of the Kitu Kara people who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the river, says the action was taken because the Machángara is “one of the most polluted rivers in the country and is important because it runs through Quito.”
Historic victory
For the plaintiffs, the ruling marks a milestone because it is the river of all Quito residents and has a close relationship with indigenous communities such as the Kitu Kara, a Kichwa group. In the Kichwa language, the name of the Machángara River is derived from the word Machay, which means snake. “For us indigenous people, all rivers and forests have an individuality, a different energy. On a spiritual and biological level,” explains Iza. He adds that rivers are part of Mother Earth, of Pachamama, and that if they are sick, the health of human beings will also be affected.
The experts consulted also point out that if the condition of the river improves, this will not only be felt in Quito, but also in the north of the country, in Esmeraldas, and even in the Galapagos Islands, since the pollution is so high that the river waters flow into these areas with all this dirt.
The Machángara has been contaminated for decades. “It is caused by industry, by households. There are no treatment plants to treat its water. It is plagued by coliform colonies, by bacteria,” says Iza.
Blanca Ríos, a biologist and professor at the University of the Americas (UDLA), says that Quito only treats 2% of its wastewater, which ends up in the Machángara River. “It is an open-air sewer. It carries pharmaceutical waste, heavy metals, oils, grease, biological contamination, grease, among others.” Unplanned urbanization has also contributed, he explains.
Environmental engineer and public policy expert Cristina Reyes Cristina Reyes says the river is as dirty as the water that passes through a sewer. “They have the same quality. Imagine that there are neighborhoods that are next to this river.”
Ríos and Reyes agree that the river’s pollution reaches all the way to its mouth in the Pacific Ocean and that, despite its poor health, some communities unfortunately still use it, among other things, for irrigation. “This pollution reaches the province of Esmeraldas and the Galapagos Islands,” says Reyes.
Reyes explains that the greatest benefit of the ruling is that it will allow for the creation of a “specific recovery plan for the Machángara River” with actions for up to ten years, which will allow for the allocation of public resources and will force the municipality to seek financing from the central government. “Having a mandatory ruling in favor of the rights of nature was essential for citizens, regardless of the government in power. The river has life, it doesn’t care who the mayor is.”
The environmental engineer also criticizes the fact that the municipality of Quito has appealed the ruling and argues that this action demonstrates the disconnection and ignorance of the government with the environment and its nature. “The mayor rejects the method used (the citizen lawsuit), but this is a valid resource in a democracy.” She adds that it is not utopian to expect that the ruling will provide solutions, since the proposals made by the plaintiffs are based on official reports and data from the municipality, with realistic expectations.
Reyes also says that it is not possible that currently there are only 11 sanctioning processes per year from the municipality for environmental issues. “They do not give it priority. There are no teams, there is no personnel, there is no capacity to investigate the contamination of the river from distilleries, factories, tanneries, among others. Those 11 processes are not even all about the river.”
In light of this, the specialist hopes that the capacities of the treatment plants will be strengthened and that they will increase in the city.
Ríos also points out that the court’s order seeks to correct a situation in which, for decades, “municipalities have not taken efficient actions to maintain the ecological quality, ecosystem services and integrity of the Machángara River.” While they await the details of the final text of the ruling with responsibilities and deadlines assigned to state entities, experts are hopeful.
Iza believes that the river can be saved after the ruling. “If there is political will, of course it can be recovered. It would take years, but it is possible.” He says that some key points of the judges’ decision are to hold the Quito municipality responsible. This, he says, will allow specific tasks to be assigned to different entities, with established deadlines to resolve the problem.
Ríos also has high expectations that “actions will be taken to comprehensively repair the river.”
*Main image: The Machángara River is polluted despite being Quito’s flagship body of water. Photo: Cristina Reyes.