Focus area
Machángara River
A river that crosses Quito, where sewage and solid waste are major pressures and a court has recognized the river's rights.
South America
Ecuador
Focus area
The Machángara in Quito: a river with legal rights and a long road to recovery.
Geography and context
Ecuador lies on South America's Pacific coast, and its capital, Quito, sits high in the Andes. The Machángara River, which begins in the mountains, runs through the city and is described in Ecuadorian reporting as Quito's main river. Ecuador's constitution recognizes legal rights for nature, including the right of natural features not to be polluted.
In July 2024 a Quito court declared the Machángara a subject of rights and ordered the municipality to prepare a decontamination plan. The ruling was appealed, and in September 2025 the Provincial Court of Pichincha rejected the municipality's appeal and ratified it. Civil-society groups in Quito, including river collectives and environmental coalitions, have been part of this effort.
Focus area
Opportunities we may explore
- Learn first from the Quito collectives and environmental groups already working on the Machángara.
- Explore simple, repeatable riverbank and litter surveys that local teams can maintain.
- Look at ways to reduce single-use plastic and household waste reaching the river, working with neighborhood groups.
- Treat safe water access as its own program, led by qualified local specialists.
Organizations to explore
Organization to exploreWorks on this waterway
CEDENMA (Coordinadora Ecuatoriana de Organizaciones para la Defensa de la Naturaleza y el Medio Ambiente)
An Ecuadorian coalition that describes itself as a body representing non-profit civil organizations working to defend nature and the environment. Euronews and Climate Week NYC name it among the groups that supported the 2024 Machángara rights-of-nature case in Quito. Its own website does not mention the Machángara.
Organization to exploreWorks on this waterway
Colectivo Rescate del Río San Pedro
A volunteer citizen collective in Quito, founded in 2021, that organizes community cleanups (mingas), education and advocacy for the San Pedro River. Expreso reported that by early 2025 it had held 22 mingas with more than 1,500 volunteers and collected more than 13 tons of waste. Acción Ecológica names it among the collectives behind the 2024 Machángara ruling, and its link page lists information on the Guardianas del Machángara. Its own cleanups focus on the San Pedro rather than the Machángara.
Official website of Colectivo Rescate del Río San Pedro (external site)
Organization to exploreCountry-level expertise
Acción Ecológica
A long-established Ecuadorian environmental organization whose website covers water as a human right, rights of nature, climate and extractive industries. It published an analysis of the 2024 Machángara ruling and hosts the court sentence. The sources reviewed do not describe it running river cleanups or monitoring itself, so its relevance is at country level.
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