Community water supply service systems in the high basin of the Guarino River (Marulanda, Caldas, Colombia) as territorialities for sustainability

Local community participation plays an increasingly important role in the sustainable management of river basins. Communities’ contribution to protecting hydrological basins and the ecosystems surrounding them has been recognized in the political and scientific debate. Hence, protecting these ecosystems from a socio-ecosystemic approach is necessary. This research work, based on empirical evidence, aims to contribute to comprehending the relationship between communitarian action and the protection of river basins and the ecosystems surrounding them. For this purpose, we conduct a documentary and ethnographic study of the Community Water Supply Service Systems (CWS) located in the high and middle basin of the Guarino River in Marulanda, Caldas, Colombia. This work considers the communitarian character of these systems as well as their compatibility with the environment and their long-term sustainability. Recognizing some of these community systems as strategies for environmental protection and an efficient supply of water services is necessary for improving water management in river basins. It also recognizes the indissociable relationship existing between environmental sustainability and the construction of territorialities around community governance of water resources in rural areas.