Ecuador is middle-income country located in northwestern South America, with a population of approximately 17.5 million people. The climate varies significantly across its geographic regions, allowing for great biodiversity. Ecuador has abundant agricultural, oil, mineral, and hydropower resources; agriculture contributes to 32% of employment, while 77% of energy produced comes from hydropower sources. However, poverty remains at 27% and has shown little decrease in the last years (World Bank Group, 2024). 

Ecuador is highly vulnerable to natural hazards, including floods, landslides, droughts, and earthquakes. El Niño and La Niña phenomena, are particularly harmful for the country, as they increase flood and drought risk. Climate projections suggest increasing mean temperatures in Ecuador, triggering more extreme weather events, like intense precipitation, which makes floods and landslides more prevalent. An estimated 20% of Ecuador’s population is exposed to 15 centimeters or more of flood inundation risk (World Bank Group, 2024).  

Climate change impacts threaten income, infrastructure, and livelihoods. Natural disasters are expected to worsen with climate change, exacerbating hazards, and prolonged water shortages that affect hydroelectric power, particularly impacting the poor in the Amazon and coastal regions. Prolonged water shortages have already compromised hydroelectric power generation, as evidenced by the energy crisis in 2023 and April 2024. The lack of adaptation options will raise the risk of energy crises in the country and further jeopardize agricultural activities, as well as biodiversity (World Bank Group, 2024). 


CARE Ecuador integrates resilience to climate change and disasters as an approach to build resilient communities, with a particular focus on women and girls. CARE Ecuador works to help the most vulnerable populations adapt to the impacts of climate change.