Cuenca Just Bought 1 Million Square Meters of Páramo to Protect Your Water — And a Nicky Jam Concert Paid for It

A Concert That Actually Did Something

You know those government-funded concerts where everyone has a good time and taxpayers wonder where the money went? This isn't one of those stories.

On February 23, Mayor Cristian Zamora signed a public utility declaration for the acquisition of 1,052,897 square meters (about 105 hectares) of páramo land in the Yanuncay watershed. The purchase price: $180,000.

Where did the money come from? The Nicky Jam concert during Carnaval, which generated approximately $280,406 in revenue. After covering the land purchase, there's roughly $100,000 left — already earmarked for additional páramo acquisitions.

What Exactly Did Cuenca Buy?

The land sits in a strategic location:

• Borders Cajas National Park — one of Ecuador's most important protected areas
• Adjacent to the Quimsacocha National Recreation Area — the contested zone at the center of the mining debate
• Sits in the Yanuncay watershed — where the Tarqui and Yanuncay rivers originate

These aren't just any rivers. They're critical water sources for Cuenca and its surrounding rural parishes. The páramo acts like a giant sponge, absorbing rainfall and slowly releasing it into the river system. Without it, Cuenca's water supply faces serious long-term risk.

ETAPA's Conservation Track Record

This isn't a one-off. The municipal water utility ETAPA has been systematically acquiring watershed land since 1984 — making it one of the longest-running conservation programs of any South American city.

Under the current administration alone, ETAPA has acquired approximately 9 million square meters of land in hydrological recharge zones. General Manager Verónica Polo confirmed the utility has invested roughly $2.5 million in land purchases over the past two years, with a target of reaching $5 million.

Why This Matters for Expats

If you live in Cuenca, you benefit from some of the cleanest municipal tap water in Latin America. That's not an accident — it's the result of decades of páramo protection.

• Water quality: Protected páramo means cleaner source water, which means less treatment needed
• Water reliability: Healthy páramo provides consistent year-round flow, even during dry spells
• Cost stability: Less treatment and consistent supply keep your water bill reasonable
• Long-term security: Every hectare purchased is one more hectare that can't be mined, developed, or degraded

Mayor Zamora put it simply: "We are making decisions today to guarantee tomorrow's water. Cuenca's water security demands planning and timely action."

The Mining Connection

The timing of this purchase isn't coincidental. As Ecuador's National Assembly advances a mining reform bill this week (see our coverage), Cuenca's government is racing to secure páramo land before mining interests can stake claims.

Every hectare ETAPA buys is one more hectare protected from extraction. It's a quiet, land-deed-by-land-deed defense of Cuenca's most valuable resource.

What's Next

The remaining $100,000 from the concert fund will go toward acquiring additional privately-held land in the watershed. If you went to the Nicky Jam show, congratulations — your ticket money is now protecting the water you drink.

Not a bad return on a concert ticket.

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Sources: Cuenca.gob.ec, El Mercurio