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LLANCHAMA, ECUADOR - A long passenger boat floats abandoned outside Andres Machoa’s house, along the Tiputini River in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. The community bought the boat more than five years ago when the state-owned oil company, Petroamazonas, moved into the area and promised everyone stable jobs, including as water taxi conductors to transport their staff …
Continue reading "Life on the Amazon oil frontier: From exploration to ecotourism (Mongabay)"
QUITO, ECUADOR - Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park sits in a unique position on the equator, between the Andes mountain range and the Amazon rainforest, which has allowed a rich and distinct biodiversity to flourish. The region is surrounded by towering ceibo and mahogany trees, emblematic of the area, as well as hundreds of endemic birds, …
QUITO, ECUADOR - Gina Pena said she was leaving a humanitarian aid office in Ecuador's capital Quito one day when she saw the man who had threatened her life back in Colombia. "If I open my mouth, he'll cut my family up. That's what he told me," Pena recalled, adding she no longer feels safe …
Continue reading "Ecuador: Colombia refugees stage weeks-long protest against UNHCR (Al Jazeera)"
SANTANDER DE QUILOCHAO, COLOMBIA - Clemencia Carabali did not know the number that appeared on her phone when it rang last June. She didn't recognise the man's voice on the other end of the call. "If you don't leave the territory by 5pm today, you're a dead woman," Carabali recalled the man saying. Carabali reported …
Continue reading "For many women in Colombia, peace never arrived (Al Jazeera)"
QUITO, ECUADOR — The indigenous Waorani community in Ecuador won a historic lawsuit against the government late last month, when a three-judge panel ruled that a consultation process conducted with the community in 2012 was inadequate and violated the community’s rights. The ruling immediately suspends any possibility of selling the community’s territory for the sake …
Continue reading "Historic win by Ecuador’s Waorani could re-shape extraction activities (Mongabay)"
QUITO, ECUADOR - The indigenous Waorani community in Ecuador won a landmark lawsuit on Friday against three government bodies for conducting a faulty consultation process with the community before putting their territory up for sale in an international oil auction. The ruling immediately suspends any possibility of selling the community's land for oil exploration. It …
Continue reading "Indigenous Waorani win landmark legal case against Ecuador gov’t (Al Jazeera)"
SINANGOE, ECUADOR — The day begins with everyone drinking a big cup of Yoko. A man called Viejo ("old man," in Spanish) carves the bark off a special vine found only in the Amazon highlands and mixes it with water. The resulting brew has a gritty texture and a bitter, earthy taste and gives the …
PUYO, ECUADOR - More than 200 indigenous Waorani people and their supporters marched to the court in the Amazon city of Puyo on Thursday to begin their high-stakes hearing against the Ecuadorian government. After long protesting oil extraction in its territory, the community are suing three government bodies - the Ministry of Energy and Non-renewable …
Continue reading "Indigenous Waorani sue Ecuadorian government over land rights (Al Jazeera)"
PUYO, ECUADOR—Rosa Elvira Chuji Gualingai, 50, came to the city to pressure the government. Watching the traffic outside her office window, she says, “I can't get used to this lifestyle.” The indigenous activist, leader of the Shiwiar community of Kurintsa, was raised deep in the Amazon rainforest, surrounded by towering ceibo and palm trees. With …
QUITO, ECUADOR - Gabriela doesn't remember when she was raped, because she was passed out when it happened. The 27-year-old Ecuadorian psychology student had been taking anti-depressants and sleeping pills on a regular basis. One night, when staying at a friend's house, she took the usual combination that "makes me not feel a thing," she …
