FAO Digital Media Hub - ECUADOR 2025. Lake San Pablo, the largest lake in the Imbabura province

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ECUADOR 2025. Lake San Pablo, the largest lake in the Imbabura province

08 July 2025. Imbabura, Ecuador. Panoramic view of Lake San Pablo. This lake is vital for the biodiversity and agriculture of Cotacachi, providing water for irrigation, supporting native flora and fauna, and sustaining traditional farming practices among Indigenous communities in the region.

07/08/2025

Country or Territory Ecuador

Related URL Related FAO Feature Story: https://www.fao.org/newsroom/story/secrets-of-the-andean-chakras/en

UNFAO Source FAO Photo Library

File size 9.33 MB

Unique ID UF1ADP9

Editorial use only. Photo credit must be given. For further information contact: Photo-Library@fao.org

Background Information Kichwa women and their ancestral agricultural knowledge have sustained food security in Ecuador’s highlands for centuries. Their farms, known as chakra, were recognized in 2023 by FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). Indigenous women like Magdalena are seed guardians, preserving native maize varieties and passing this knowledge to her daughter Verónica.

Climate change-related droughts, floods and pests threaten this system, but with FAO’s support, organizations like UNORCAC work with Kichwa communities to strengthen resilience through the use and exchange of native seeds.