Inhaltspezifische Aktionen

Dr. Kalina Marcela Fonseca Largo

Contact

kalina.fonseca@utc.edu.ec

Website

 

          
 

Working with local communities in Ecuador, I have found that implementing socio-environmental strategies directly improves water quality and strengthens community resilience. My research team and I integrate nature-based solutions, open-source tools, and citizen science to address drought and water pollution at the community level. By training local citizens, especially women farmers, to monitor and analyse water data, we equip communities with actionable knowledge, leading to measurable improvements in water management and agricultural sustainability.

          

Education
2021 - 2025    Ph.D. in Environmental and Resource Management (Magna Cum Lude)
Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany and scholarship holder within the SDGNN project
2013 - 2016   Master of Science, Ecology and Environmental Management (honours) Russian State Hydrometeorological University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2008 - 2012    Bachelor in ecology and ecotourism Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University Central of Ecuador.

 

Professional Experience and Teaching
Since 2025   Associate professor at the Department of Environmental Engineering, Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi (UTC), Latacunga, Ecuador
Since 2025   Director of project: “ChuquirAgua”: Citizen Science Initiative for Early Warning of Droughts, Power Rationing, Wildfires, and Water Degradation in Local Communities
2021 - 2024   PhD Student in the SDG Nexus Network Project, Justus Liebig University Giessen
2017 - 2021   Assistant professor at the Department of Environmental Engineering, Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi (UTC), Latacunga, Ecuador.
2013 - 2016   Research student – Master's program in Environmental Sciences, Russian State Hydrometeorological University (RSHU)

  

Further Information
Affiliation   External Member of ZEU
Focus Area  

Climate & Environmental Change

One Health
References   Research Gate
Research Interests  
  • Water Quality Monitoring and Management
  • Nature-Based Solutions for Water Treatment
  • Citizen Science and Open Science Approaches
  • Water Pollution in Andean Páramos
  • Alternative Water Treatments in Key Ecosystems
Publications
  • Fonseca, K. (2025): Water Quality Improvement Using Nature-Based Solutions and its Interlinkages with Sustainable Development Goals. https://doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-19968
  • Fonseca, K., Espitia-Sarmiento, E. F., Ilbay-Yupa, M., & Breuer, L. (2024): Integrating community knowledge into nature-based solutions for the sustainability of water ecosystem services: Insight from local communities in Ecuador. Frontiers in Sustainability, 5, 1491776. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2024.1491776
  • Fonseca, K., Acero Triana, J. S., Ramírez, M., Martínez, W., Ilbay, M., Espitia-Sarmiento, E., & Breuer, L. (2024): Assessing the potential of nature-based solutions as sustainable land and water management strategies in the high tropical Andean páramo ecosystem. Journal of Environmental Management, 372, 123350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123350
  • Fonseca, K., Espitia, E., Breuer, L., & Correa, A.(2022): Using fuzzy cognitive maps to promote nature-based solutions for water quality improvement in developing-country communities.    Journal    of    Cleaner    Production, 377, 134246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134246
  • Fonseca, K., Ruiz, J., Espitia, E., Campaña, E., & Moreno (2021): Phytoremediation of arsenic-contaminated waters by artificial floating island: Literature review. Revista de La Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Del Zulia, 38(1), 199–215. https://doi.org/10.47280/RevFacAgron(LUZ).v38.n1.010
  • Fonseca, K.; Ruiz Depablos, J.L.; Espitia-Sarmiento, E.F.; Llugsha Moreta, N.M. (2020): Artificial Floating Island with Vetiver for Treatment of Arsenic-Contaminated Water: A Real Scale Study in High-Andean Reservoir. Water 2020, 12, 3086. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113086
  • Fonseca, K.; Clairand, Martina (2018): Preliminary characterization of water quality of the reservoir Salache Academic Experimental Center. UTCiencia "Ciencia y Tecnología al servicio del pueblo", [S.l.], v. 5, n. 1, p. 60-72, jul. 2018. ISSN 2602-8263.
  • Fonseca, K., Ilbay Yupa, M., Bustillos, L., Barbosa, S., & Iza, A. (2018): Comparison of Interpolation Methods for the Estimation of Temperature of Ceasa Reservoir. Revista Bases de la Ciencia. e-ISSN 2588-0764, 3(1), 57. https://doi.org/10.33936/rev_bas_de_la_ciencia.v3i1.1108
  • Ilbay, M. L., Fonseca K., Quichimbo Miguitama, A., Lara Landázuri, R., & Tiche Toasa, J. (2017): Estimación de Datos Faltantes de Precipitación en la Subcuenca del Río Patate. Revista Bases de la Ciencia. e-ISSN 2588-0764, 2(3), 37. https://doi.org/10.33936/rev_bas_de_la_ciencia.v2i3.1079