Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador unite to protect the rainforests

Photo: © Oak Foundation
Photo caption: Two Waorani Tribes people and Jorge Acero, Senior Attorney of Rights Defenders of Amazon Frontlines visit the Oak offices to tell us about their successful court win in Ecuador to protect the Amazon rainforest.

The Waorani people of Pastaza in Ecuador won a historic ruling in court in April 2019 – to protect half a million acres of their territory in the Amazon rainforest from being earmarked for oil drilling. 

During the week of the ruling in an Ecuadorian court, hundreds of Waorani youth and elders travelled overland from their jungle communities and marched through the city of Puyo, the capital of the province Pastaza. Many of them travelled for eight days to join the marches and have their voices heard. They were joined by other indigenous nations from across the country. Their cause garnered widespread support and attention.

“Many people think that a minority group can’t decide for the rest of the country, that’s why so many of us came to Puyo to show ourselves – otherwise we are out of sight, out of mind.”

– Nemonte Nenquimo, President of the Waorani Pastaza Organization.

The Waorani people live traditional lives in the south of the country in the Ecuadorian rainforests. “We saw what happened in the north of the country,” says Nemonte, referring to how oil drilling displaced indigenous peoples in that region. “Their land was destroyed, their waterways polluted, they are getting cancer now. We don’t want what happened in the north to happen to us. We want to live free, and to be healthy. We don’t want to face the difficulties the communities in the north have been facing.”

The decision by the three-judge panel of the Pastaza Provincial Court immediately voids the consultation process with the Waorani undertaken by the Ecuadorian Government in 2012, indefinitely suspending the auctioning of their lands to oil companies. “This court ruling is a great triumph,” says Nemonte. “It acknowledges that the community has said ‘no!’ We will never sell our rainforest to the oil companies. The land is not for sale, we don’t even want an offer.”

Read more about the Waorani victory here. Oak supports Amazon Frontlines, a not-for-profit organisation that defends indigenous rights to land, life and cultural survival in the Amazon rainforest. Oak believes in a human-centred approach that respects people’s rights and supports the sustainable use and conservation of natural resources. Find out more here.