The main cultural assets of Ecuador

Ecuador, “country of the four worlds” has an extensive and diverse cultural and natural heritage. This heritage is reflective of our values and traditions and is represented by an infinite variety of movable and immovable cultural assets, along with historical archives and archaeological sites. The numerous manifestations of our Intangible cultural heritage in particular play an important role in defining elements of our identity.

The legal framework on cultural heritage conservation

From 2013 to date, Ecuador strengthened its regulatory bodies for the protection, conservation and restoration of natural and cultural heritage, both the Environmental Code and the Organic Law of Culture generate a state and regulatory structure at all levels of government, in order to make effective the exercise of cultural rights and the right to live in a healthy environment and rights of nature. This regulatory advance entails the construction of secondary regulations and their structuring.

• Constitución de la República del Ecuador 2008.
• Ley Orgánica de Cultura 2016.
• Reglamento General a la Ley Orgánica de Cultura 2017.
• Código Orgánico de Organización Territorial, COOTAD
• Ley Orgánica de Ordenamiento Territorial, uso y Gestión de Suelo
• Reglamento LOOTUGS
• Código Orgánico Integral Penal, COIP
• Código Orgánico del Ambiente COA
• Reglamento COA
• Ley Orgánica de Régimen Especial de la Provincia de Galápagos
• Ley de Soberanía Alimentaria
• Ley de Agrodiversidad, semillas y fomento de agricultura sostenible

The cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List

Ecuador has five sites recognized by UNESCO on the World Heritage List

Cultural Sites
• City of Quito (1978)
• Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca (1999)
• Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System (2014)

Natural Sites
• Galápagos Islands (1978,2001)
• Sangay National Park (1983)

And, four manifestations on the Intangible Heritage List:

• Oral heritage and cultural manifestations of the Zápara people (2008)
• Traditional weaving of the Ecuadorian toquilla straw hat (2012)
• Marimba music, traditional chants and dances from the Colombian South Pacific región and Esmeraldas Province of Ecuador (2015)
• Pasillo, song and poetry (2021)

Ecuador is a Member State of ICCROM since 19/11/2003

Originally a Member of ICCROM from 31 March 1980. Deemed to have renounced its membership on 31.12.2001 under article 10 of the Statutes.

Ecuador was readmitted to ICCROM at the XXIII Session of the General Assembly in 2003.

Mandates in ICCROM Council since 1958:

ICCROM Staff since 1959: - None -

Governmental Cultural Institutions

• Ministerio de Cultura y Patrimonio
• Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural

Museums and Cultural Heritage Institutions

• Museo Nacional del Ecuador
• Red de Museos del Ecuador
• Fundación Museos de la Ciudad
• Sistema de Museos y Centros Culturales
• Instituto Metropolitano de Patrimonio

Others

• Sistema Integral de Información Cultural

* ICCROM reserves the right to moderate the content provided by Member States for country profiles to ensure that they remain within the scope of ICCROM’s mission and pertinent to cultural heritage. However, ICCROM does not take responsibility for the accuracy and validity of the content supplied. The ideas and opinions expressed are those of the Member States.