5.17.10

The past week here in Tena I have been helping with an event put on by a non-partisan civil society from Quito. The event was a forum about communities’ rights in relation to petroleum companies. Oil extraction is a major industry in Ecuador and also a controversial issue here. Our organization mostly helped by handing out invitations to the event to important community leaders but this week I did a lot of reflecting on the differences between the U.S. and Ecuador regarding environmental issues. I learned a lot listening to many different Ecuadorians’ opinions on the issue of petroleum. As an American, I also can’t help but feel like a hypocrite as I’m listening to what Ecuadorians have to say about it. While I’m here to do work to benefit the environment, I’m completely aware that our American lifestyles back home are a huge part of the world’s environmental problems.
The region of El Oriente is very rich in petroleum and about a third of Ecuador’s petroleum is exported. Oil extraction does in fact bring money into a community and provides jobs but also comes with great risks. While a lot of communities benefit from this money, it’s not a long term, sustainable solution to poverty in rural communities. With oil extraction comes contaminated water, rivers, soil, deforestation and sickness. And after this, communities are left with nothing but a little bit of money to sustain them for a little while.
Ecuador is one of the world’s greatest biodiversity hotspots. Environmental protection is actually written into their constitution. I learned today that everyone has the right to “transparency and knowledge” regarding any environmental issues. This means they have to right to know about any oil production activity in their community- who’s doing it, for how long, what sort of damages it will bring, who will benefit etc. So while this information is by law available, the problem is that it is rarely communicated; roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined- including the role of the government. Information about risks and potential environmental damages are rarely conveyed before oil companies enter a region. And I think it’s highly unlikely oil companies would be willing to tell the whole truth about these things too.
A major difference here is that Ecuadorians are greatly aware of the importance of the natural resources they have. And most Ecuadorians I have met are highly in favor of protecting their biodiversity and natural resources. In America I think it’s much harder for people to make the connection that protecting natural resources now will ensure money and health for the future. Here, everyone I have talked to so far about my work or environmental issues agrees it’s important work- protecting forests, rivers, wildlife and other resources. The government program “Sociobosque” is a great example of that. Landowners who enroll in “Sociobosque” receive money to not cut down forest on their land for farming or development. This provides a steady (while small) income but opposed to one lump sum landowners could get from lumber, it’s definitely more sustainable.
Learning more about oil extraction here in Ecuador, puts environmental issues into a more obvious global perspective for me. While countries like the U.S. are creating much of the demand for oil and resources, communities here are the ones who pay for it in many ways.