Quito, Ecuador – To defend their natural heritage and ancestral way of life followed since time immemorial, indigenous communities from the central and southern Ecuadorian Amazon have declared their opposition to oil exploitation in their territories as proposed under the Ecuadorian government’s recently announced Ninth Round of oil licensing.
This decision was made public by the Vice President of CONAIE, Tito Puanchir, President of CONFENAIE Adolfo Shakay, and Johnson Cerda, coordinator of the Washington-based Amazon Alliance. The declaration was formed during last week’s Amazon Alliance meeting in Quito.
The Ninth Round will directly affect the ancestral territories of the Shuar, Achuar, Kichwa, Zápara, Waorani and Shiwiar Amazon indigenous nations. In violation of their constitutional rights, none of these peoples have been consulted about oil development on their lands as required under the Ecuadorian Constitution. The Ninth Round also expands oil development deeper into several natural protected areas including the southern border of the Yasuní Tagaeri Taromenane reserved
zone.
These indigenous peoples declare that they do not want a repeat of what happened in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon, where oil operations destroyed thousands of square miles of virgin rainforest and permanently polluted all rivers. Their decision stands in defense of their culture, way of life and a natural wealth that all Ecuadorians must respect and defend. The area to be affected by proposed oil activity contains one of the last remnants of intact primary rainforest remaining in Ecuador, home to irreplaceable biodiversity. Many communities there benefit from thriving eco-tourism.
This irreparable loss would make way for short-term profit for the oil industry. But the poor outlook for future oil markets and low international prices on the heavy crude and extra heavy crude oil estimated to be held in the area‚s reserves calls into question the economic viability of the Ninth Round. In brief, the heritage of the area’s inhabitants and of all Ecuadorians will be destroyed for minimal economic returns.
Exploration in the Ninth Round oil blocks is considered a high risk venture. Oil company contracts with the Ecuadorian government could oblige the State to subsidize private companies, as is the case elsewhere in Ecuador. Signs indicate that incalculable wealth will be risked at the expense of income-generating social and environmental activities such as eco-tourism.
In the area under threat one of the world‚s most interesting and promising community tourism projects is being developed: Kapawi. Kapawi tourist center has won a major international prize and is operated jointly by a private company and the Achuar indigenous people. If oil development goes ahead, Kapawi’s natural and cultural wonders will be lost.
The open and organized opposition of these indigenous peoples will surround the Ninth Round with intense social conflict. The history of fierce indigenous opposition to oil block 24 is a telling example of such conflict. To protect their organizational and territorial unity, the Shuar nation’s organization, FISPSE, successfully pleaded their constitutional rights to win a landmark legal case against companies operating block 24 (formerly ARCO, now Burlington Resources). However, company activities continue to contravene the Constitutional Court ruling and undermine the opposition of the Shuar people to oil development in Ecuador‚s central and southern Amazon.
