Quito – Ecuador’s Environment Minister has joined native groups and environmentalists in speaking out against the irreparable ecological damage they say would be caused by a 500-km oil pipeline slated to cross 11 nature and indigenous reserves.
The criticisms against the path of the pipeline were met with indignation from President Gustavo Noboa, who asserted that, despite all resistance, construction would begin along the route that his administration and the firm OCP Limited have chosen.
The ‘Oleoducto de Crudo Pesado’ (OCP – Crude Oil Pipeline) would stretch from the Ecuadorian Amazon to the Pacific Ocean, passing through several native-held territories, including that of the Zaparo peoples, whose culture and language have been designated as “Heritage of Humanity” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
“The pipeline will be built and that is final. I am not going to let them mess things up for the country (just because) a handful of idiots” are opposed to its construction, he said, referring to the indigenous leaders, environmentalist groups and human rights defenders who have condemned the project.
Noboa’s statements got a reaction from the activists, who accused him of “only listening to the Ecuadorians when they rise up against his bad government.”
Ricardo Ulcuango, vice-president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), and Natalia Arias, president of Accisn Ecolsgica, demanded that Noboa apologise for his offensive remarks.
Noboa saw a new opposition front appear from within the ranks of his own government Tuesday. Environment Minister Lourdes Luque asserted that she will not grant the required environmental permit for the pipeline project until all recommendations for preventing potential ecological damage are heeded.
The Ministry of Environment made 72 annotations to the environmental impact statement drafted by the Entrix consulting firm, and sent it back to the consultancy to draw up a new report within 15 days.
Ecuador’s environmental authorities, and others, have found anomalies in the description of the pipeline route, in the study of alternative paths, in the description of the affected areas, in the socio-economic and productive aspects and in the environmental management plan to be in place during and after the construction of the pipeline.
But Vice-President Pedro Pinto, just a few metres from where Luque made her declarations, said there will be no changes to the pipeline route because it is a government decision and it is the path “of least environmental impact.”
For her part, Accion Ecologica’s Arias pointed out that the study presented by Entrix is not rigorous and is highly ambiguous in its proposals for mitigating environmental damage, using phrases like “as long as they are practical” or “as soon as possible” when referring to implementation of ecological protection measures.
Indigenous activists and environmentalists filed a lawsuit in Quito courts challenging the constitutionality of the pipeline construction along the route proposed by OCP Limited and backed by the Noboa administration.
Arias stresses that the environmental impact study was not conducted prior to signing the construction contract, nor were the affected communities consulted to determine whether they agreed with the project, as is required by Ecuador’s Constitution.
According to the activist, the affected populations were merely informed of where the pipeline would pass and those in charge of the project have provided no explanation of how it could harm the water sources that supply the residents of Quito.
“The movement of heavy crude, heated so that it will flow through the pipeline, will endanger the water systems that supply the capital,” Arias said.
She also maintains that the seismological and volcanic risks are very high along the pipeline route – it is to cross 67 geological faults and pass near six volcanoes.
President Noboa stated that those opposed to the pipeline route would rather “defend the little butterflies, the hummingbirds, trees and forests,” without realising that they should be defending human beings, “which are the king of creation and everything in its domain.”
Noboa says his defence is based on the 52,000 jobs that will be created by the pipeline construction project and the more than one billion dollars of investment money that will be funnelled into the country for it.
If the country is to overcome its economic crisis, argues Noboa, as much petroleum as possible must be extracted, and this can only occur if the pipeline construction is completed.
Several economic analysts, however, say the pipeline will bring no such benefits to the country.
Alberto Acosta, a consultant with the Freidrich Ebert Foundation of Germany and a columnist for Quito’s ‘Hoy’ newspaper, explained that there are no solid advantages to be had from the petroleum project.
The employment created by would scarcely reach 6,000 indirect jobs and some 300 direct jobs, according to his calculations.
“Of the grandiose investment announced, less than a third would remain in this country,” Acosta added, “while just 20 percent of the expected income from crude exports would benefit Ecuador.”
CONAIE’s Ulcuango explained that this attempt to expand the petroleum sector threatens the survival of several native populations in the Amazon, including the Zaparo community.
“President Noboa’s defence of the petroleum business as beneficial for the country hides the fact that oil companies are exonerated from income tax and value added taxes for most of their transactions,” the native leader added.
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