Urban Stormwater Drainage Design: Integration of Conventional and Sustainable Technologies in Puerto Villamil, Galápagos

2026-03-31T15:47:06-04:00

Isabela Island faces stormwater management challenges due to its topography and extreme weather events. This study was conducted to design an efficient and sustainable stormwater drainage system for Puerto Villamil, with the aim of preventing sanitary sewer system overload and reducing environmental impact. The design was developed using hydraulic calculations in spreadsheets, validated with SWMM software, and took into account technical standards and local conditions. Nature-based solutions such as permeable pavements, tree pits, and rain gardens were incorporated. The final design included 136 pipes, 136 manholes, and 3 outfalls, with 2.12 ha allocated to Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDs). Runoff volume was reduced by 38%, and pipe diameters and excavation volumes were optimized. The project represents an innovative alternative for water management in protected areas, aligned with SDGs 6, 11, and 14.

Factors Influencing the Sustainability of the Marketing of Mangrove Products in the Parish of San Gregorio, Muisne Canton, Esmeraldas

2026-03-31T15:56:44-04:00

This exploratory-descriptive study evaluated the factors that undermine the sustainability of mangrove product marketing in San Gregorio, Muisne, through structured interviews (N=10) and a literature review. The central finding is systematic inequality in the market. Marketing is predominantly indirect, allowing intermediaries to capture the lion’s share of the profit margin. This drastically reduces the price at the source and creates an unfair economic situation for the harvester, who bears the greatest risk of the activity. This economic vulnerability feeds into the fragility of the ecosystem. Although community management plays a regulatory role (fines for violations of the closed season), the lack of a solid social agreement and intense demand pressure lead to non-compliance with minimum size limits and illegal harvesting. These actions undermine the reproductive capacity of mangrove products and degrade the ecosystem. The activity is trapped in a cycle of low income and high environmental risk. The key to future sustainability lies in organizational strengthening that enables vertical integration (direct sales) and the use of technology to monitor and capitalize on the ecological value of the mangrove, transcending the current dependence on intermediaries.

Journal of business and entrepreneurial studie

Urban Stormwater Drainage Design: Integration of Conventional and Sustainable Technologies in Puerto Villamil, Galápagos

Factors Influencing the Sustainability of the Marketing of Mangrove Products in the Parish of San Gregorio, Muisne Canton, Esmeraldas