The effective implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to forests (SDG15) and water resources (SDG6) have significant implications for achieving quality of life for people in urban and rural areas. We carried out a study in the rural parishes of the Metropolitan District of Quito (MDQ), Ecuador. The objective of the study was to assess how biophysical factors, institutional capacity and institutional complexity influence the perceived effectiveness of forest and water management. Ordinal logistic regressions were applied and spatial lag regressions were also calculated to assess the possible spatial correlation of the dependent variables. Additionally, spatial autocorrelation analyses (Gi* and Anselin Local Moran´s I) were applied to assess the perceived effectiveness.