Waorani, an Ecuador indigenous tribe, won the first victory against oil companies in a ruling which prohibits their entry on ancestral Amazon lands to explore for oil extraction purposes.
After two weeks of deliberations, the criminal court in Puyo in Central Ecuador accepted a bid from the Waorani for court protection in the Pastaza province for ceasing oil bidding.
This happened after the government considered opening up approximately 180,000 hectares for exploration purposes.
Continue reading the article to learn more about what happened with the land…
Ecuador Amazon Tribe Wins against Big Oil Companies
These lands are protected under the Ecuador constitution and established the “inalienable, unseizable, and indivisible” rights of the indigenous people to keep the possession of their ancestral lands and the right of free adjudication. But, the state is the one which owns the wealth in the subsoil.
The constitution also includes the need for previous consultation on any plans to use the underground resources due to the cultural and environmental influence on the tribes.
The state came to an agreement with the Waorani due to an oil exploration back in 2012; however, the leaders of the tribe claim they were deceived.
Hence, the judges ordered the government to have new consultations and set up standards appropriate with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from San Jose.
This ruling is a major precedent for the Amazon, according to the attorney of the plaintiffs, Lina Maria Espinosa. She added that it perfectly shows that there was no consultation and that the state broke the rights of these tribes and consequently, of other people too.
The Waorani people are somewhere around 4,800 and also live in other provinces in the Amazon.
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