Citizens of the parish Los Encuentros will carry out water monitoring in Fruta del Norte
Lundin Gold, under an agreement between Fundación Lundin and the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), is promoting the Community Water Monitoring Programme for Fruta del Norte (FDN), an initiative which was raised in the Working Groups led by the parish government of Los Encuentros. This initiative will be carried out by Fundación Lundin and UTPL together with the community with the aim of improving the transparency of the management of water care in FDN through third party monitoring.
As a starting point, 29 volunteers from 7 communities near to FDN (El Pincho, El Pindal, El Zarza, La Centza, Los Almendros, Santa Lucía, and Nankais) and which belong to the parish of Los Encuentros were trained in topics related to water quality and monitoring, the care of drainage basins, and water legislation. Theoretical and practical training was given by UTPL and Gruentec Cia. Ltd., a laboratory certified by the Ecuadorian Accreditation Service.
Every three months the monitors, together with researchers from UTPL, will take water samples from different places in FDN and will analyse them independently, alongside the university.
The results of the water monitoring will be shared with the public as part of the practice of transparency and social responsibility, in addition to the commitment to protect water and the environment.
“Our company meets national legislation and international standards for the protection of water resources in FDN under four lines of action: use and exploitation, sedimentation control, effluents and management systems, and permanent monitoring. We are pleased to see the community’s commitment to the environment. Now, together with academia they will see the efficiency of the processes we implement”, highlighted María Cristina Acosta, Director of Environment and Permits of Lundin Gold, during the ceremony where the volunteers received their certification.
With initiatives like this, the company continues to implement its Sustainability Strategy in terms of the Environmental Care pillar.