Ecuador

Bulletin articles 27 February 2024
Using the argument of “sustainable development”, governments in the Amazon region continue providing incentives for extractivism. In the face of this, indigenous leader Alessandra Munduruku vents her thoughts: “What we need is the demarcation of indigenous territories. Enough talk of bioeconomy, of sustainability, when there is violence in the here and now.”
Bulletin articles 27 February 2024
The Amazon region is one of the final frontiers of resistance to capital expansion. This is epitomized by the struggles of social activists such as Chico Mendes, as well as by the presence of most of the earth’s remaining indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. However, different forms of ‘green’ extractivism are currently and increasingly advancing on this territory.
Bulletin articles 26 February 2024
The Ecuadorian people's decision to stop oil extraction in the Yasuní National Park now brings new challenges: How do you recover a territory that has been sacrificed, and bring justice to affected areas, with the solidarity of the whole country?
Bulletin articles 25 October 2023
In this editorial, at a time in which elites and oil companies continue to cling to the power and profit derived from fossil fuels, we would like to acknowledge the contribution that the Ecuadorian people have made to the world in the fight for territories free of oil exploitation.
Bulletin articles 22 July 2023
In this bulletin, focused on the violence that the so-called ‘green economy’ represents for Indigenous Peoples and peasant communities, we remember an interview with Josephina Lema, member of the Otavalo people of the Kichwa (Quechua) nation.
Bulletin articles 30 March 2023
A recent Popular Consultation in Ecuador attempted to include, among other things, ‘environmental services offsets’ as a constitutional right. The majority of voters voted against it. However, this attempt serves as a warning about the interests that wish to strengthen policies of appropriation and the commodification of nature.
Bulletin articles 16 June 2022
There are currently 270,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in Ecuador. The resistance processes of the communities of La Chiquita, Guadualito and Barranquilla de San Javier in the region of Esmeraldas continue to generate outrage and solidarity among other communities, and internationally.
Bulletin articles 17 December 2021
One of the main causes of deforestation in Mesoamerica is the expansion of oil palm monoculture. An exchange of experiences brought together representatives from indigenous and peasant communities to coordinate their resistance.
Other information 17 December 2021
In a recent publication, the Ecuadorian organization, Acción Ecológica, reveals how the extraction of balsa wood has affected Amazonian indigenous territories—impacting both the social fabric and the forests in the foothills of the Andes Mountains (including the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve). The balsa wood “boom” is a result of the Chinese wind industry, since China is the country that has built the most wind farms in recent years. The publication also addresses how the balsa wood business is structured in Ecuador, as well as its main producers and exporters. Read it in Spanish here.
Declarations 12 October 2021
Only available in Spanish.
Action alerts 29 September 2021
Only available in Spanish.
Bulletin articles 9 July 2021
Balsa wood is an important input for windmills. Ecuador is the world’s largest exporter of this wood. The invasion of millions of wind turbines in China, Europe and the US means the extraction of metals to build them, as well as the brutal felling of balsa wood trees.