Ecuador votes in favor of stopping oil exploitation in an area with the greatest biodiversity – Latin America – International

2023-08-23 05:46:02

In a historic consultation, the people of Ecuador have spoken out about the future of two important natural regions of the country.

For more than ten years, groups of activists had tried to carry out a popular consultation on oil exploitation in the middle of the Yasuní National Park, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon and considered one of the most biodiverse spaces on the planet.

After several pitfalls, the promoters of the referendum managed to hold a referendum this Sunday, in parallel with the presidential elections, under the question “Do you agree that the Ecuadorian government should maintain the ITT oil fields, known as Block 43 , indefinitely underground?

According to the National Electoral Council, 59% of people answered “Yes” to stop exploitation in Block 43, better known Yasuní ITT.

But it was not the only environmental consultation that took place that day.

The inhabitants of Quito expressed their disagreement with the progress of mining exploration in an area especially important for its biodiversity: the Chocó Andino.

This area, located about 40 kilometers from the city center, is a profuse ecological reserve, but at the same time, it has mineral reserves such as gold and copper.

For this reason, for some years, activists from the “Quito without mining” collective had promoted the popular consultation, with four questions for the inhabitants of the area to indicate if they agreed with prohibiting artisanal or small-, medium-scale mining. and on a large scale.

The response in this regional consultation was more forceful: 67% of the voters declared themselves in favor of the ban.

“We achieved the greatest national consensus. In other words, what politicians divide us, we managed to unite in nature,” Pedro Bermeo, one of the leaders of the citizen initiative, told BBC Mundo.

“It is not about ending oil exploitation. It is a message that communities have the right to decide what happens in their environments. In this case, the indigenous people ”, he told BBC Mundo

A debate between nature and exploitation

Although the violence suffered by the country attracted most of the attention during the electoral campaign, the future of these regions gained importance both inside and outside the country.

The international media recalled that this consultation was the conclusion of an old initiative.

In 2007, then-President Rafael Correa launched a novel proposal for that time: not to extract close to 850 million barrels of oil in exchange for economic compensation.

However, six years later, the initiative was canceled because the expected money was not raised. The government then gave the authorization to begin the exploration of the field.

But at the time, a group of activists began a process so that the citizens would decide if the exploration should be carried out. A diligence that took ten years.

With the victory of Yes, as reported by the National Electoral Council and according to what was indicated by the Constitutional Court when it approved the consultation in May of this year, the Ecuadorian government will not be able to sign more oil exploitation contracts in this area.

In addition, the government will have one year for a progressive and orderly removal of the oil infrastructure in the national park.

“For us it was clear that the wealth of this area is above the block: in its people and in its biodiversity,” said Bermeo.

On the issue of Chocó Andino, the victory of the yes does not have retroactive effects. It simply establishes that the Ecuadorian government cannot issue any other mining license in this area.

“This is a message to the government that we want to progress in another way: an economy that is based on biodiversity and not on the exploitation of natural resources,” Inti Arcos, one of the leaders of “Quito” told BBC Mundo. without mining”.

immediate effects

Analysts and representatives of industrial and mining unions had expressed their concern if there was a “yes” victory in both consultations.

“That is a very important oil field. And stopping its development will have a significant impact for the government and also for investor confidence at a time when Ecuador is trying to attract new foreign investment in the oil sector and also in the mining sector,” he told BBC Mundo. Eileen Gavin, Principal Analyst for Global Markets and Americas at Verisk Maplecroft

The Minister of Energy and Mines of Ecuador, Fernando Santos, indicated for his part that the victory of the referendum in the Chocó Andino does not have retroactive effects, therefore the concessions made before the referendum will continue.

Currently, exploration permits have been granted at six points in this area.

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BBC-NEWS-SRC: IMPORTING DATE: 2023-08-21 13:20:10