Indicadores de sostenibilidad socioeconómica de comunidades pesqueras artesanales: Zonas bajo derechos de uso en Ecuador

Abstract

CONDITION FOR PUBLICATION OF PROJECT. There is a need for an objective and territorially comparable instrument to measure the socioeconomic sustainability of coastal communities under Sustainable Use and Mangrove Custody Agreements (AUSCEM) in Ecuador. The aim of this project is to evaluate and compare the economic, social, ecological, and governance dimensions by province, under the hypothesis that areas with greater job stability, access to basic services, and better housing conditions present higher levels of sustainability. The justification lies in the absence of integrated indicators that allow a differentiated territorial analysis. The project used data from the 2022 Population and Housing Census, which were linked to AUSCEM polygons; housing, household, and population variables were recoded and normalized through the Min–Max method, aggregated into four dimensions with equal weighting, and classified into five ordinal categories. Results showed provincial heterogeneity: the economic dimension explained most of the variation in the index, while governance reached relatively high values but with less explanatory power. It is concluded that the provincial comparison by dimensions provides a solid basis for identifying territorial gaps and guiding differentiated public policies; however, it is suggested to generate and systematize exclusive information from AUSCEM communities to refine the analysis and strengthen its applicability. Keywords: AUSCEM, composite index, Census 2022, normalization.