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Water Sowing and Harvesting (WS&H) is an ancestral knowledge widely used as a sustainable technique in water management. This study aims to analyse the importance, promotion, and cultural heritage of WS&H techniques through a literature review in Ecuador, considering applications of ancestral techniques by region (coastal, Andean and insular) with a strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats (SWOTs) analysis and a focus group for a strategy proposal of the water supply. The methodology of this study includes the following: (i) an analysis of the evolution of WS&H studies in Ecuador; (ii) a presentation of WS&H techniques and their applications; and (iii) the contribution of WS&H to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), complemented by a SWOTs analysis. The results show that, in Ecuador, WS&H is a method of Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) applied to the problems of water scarcity and is affordable, ecological, and has high efficiency, improving agricultural productivity and guaranteeing water supply for human consumption. The Manglaralto coastal aquifer, a case study in the coastal region of Ecuador, involves WS&H management and artificial aquifer recharge. WS&H structures became a reference for the sustainable development of rural communities that can be replicated nationally and internationally as a resilient alternative to water scarcity and a global climate emergency, contributing to the SDGs of UNESCO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide earthquakes have caused a total of 719,501 human victim and 1,344.8 billion dollars in economic losses between 2000-2021. The Santa Elena province (Ecuador) is classified as an area of high seismic danger, according to the Ecuadorian Construction Standard (NEC). This coastal province has 70% of informal housing construction, structural problems and poor construction processes can be seen with the occurrence of these natural phenomena. This study aims to propose technical-economic rehabilitation solutions in informal housing constructions, through modelling and structural analysis, that guarantee occupational safety and the recovery of the structural capacity of the housing, case study (pilot). The applied methodology consisted of four phases: i) information on the pilot case study and its environment; review of the building regulations, ii) laboratory tests on soil characteristics, iii) structural modelling and analysis using SAP2000 software, and iv) structural support and rehabilitation solutions. The results indicate that the columns of the first floor require reinforcement because the average cross-section of the columns is less than the local construction regulations and defined by the criteria of experts in the construction sector. The structural elements of the second floor also require repair to reduce bending moments and distribute loads to the ground. The idea of innovation is the configuration of a protocol with construction methods for existing and new buildings, as tools for local authorities to promote reinforcement in areas of high seismic vulnerability, and thus a territorial order in the construction sector. This research recommends structural rehabilitation with reinforcements and structural repairs to guarantee its ability to withstand an earthquake and ensure the occupational well-being of inhabitants. This methodology can be replicated in houses with similar structural characteristics in Ecuadorian coast, considering SDGs 3, 9, and 11, which address health and well-being, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the American continent, the movement of tectonic plates causes seismic activity that generates earthquakes. Some countries of America are located on the western fringe of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which involves several tectonic plates, such as Nazca, Cocos, and North American, among others. This study aims to analyse the scientific production of Earthquakes in America (EiA) using Web of Science and Scopus databases, to understand the origin (first publications in the area), intellectual structure (bibliometric maps), and research trends (topics for future works). The methodology was based on: (i) criteria for database selection (reasons for selecting Scopus and Web of Science), (ii) data processing (merging databases, deleting duplicates or erroneous documents, and the selection of bibliometric software), and (iii) analysis of intellectual structure (performance of scientific publications using bibliometric maps). The EiA has greatly impacted academia since its first publication in 1861, analysing 6553 scientific publications from the western part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. It includes the most representative subduction zones in the world, with major records in the last nine years, having contributions mainly from Mexico, France, Guatemala, and Chile. Finally, the trend topics aligned to EiA are ground motion models, seismic hazards, and induced seismicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stability problems in rock masses are one of the main causes of subsidence events in underground mining areas. Zaruma, in the South of Ecuador, is characterised by mineral wealth, in which 65% of the population depends directly on artisanal mining activity. However, mineral extraction, without technical considerations and in many cases illegal, has negatively impacted the stability of tunnels generated under the city's urban area, reporting subsidence events in recent years. The aim of this study is to geomechanically characterise the main gallery of the tourist mine "El Sexmo" using two classic methods of geomechanical classification for the configuration of a model that complies with the 3G's (geotourism, geoconservation, and geoeducation) and supports the culture of sustainability in all areas of the sector. The methodology consists of (i) a field study design, (ii) a geological–geomechanical survey of the rock mass of a tourist mine using rock mass rating (RMR) and the Q-Barton index, and (iii) establishing a 3G's model for sustainable development. The results reveal that 100% of the rock mass of the tourist mine presents a rock quality classified as "Fair" (class III) by the RMR method, while, via the Q-Barton method, 92.9% of the rock mass obtains a "Poor" rating, except for station S05, rated "Very Poor". Furthermore, the study proposes additional support measures for three specific stations based on Q-Barton assessments, including fibre-reinforced sprayed concrete and bolting and reinforced ribs of sprayed concrete, considering that the mine is more than 500 years old and maintains geological features for geoeducation in geotechnical mining. Technical and social problems demand an innovative strategy, which, in this work, focuses on the 3G's model based on the quintuple innovation helix to develop sustainable underground geotourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]