Ecuadorians have voted in a referendum to ban oil exploration in Yasuni National Park, a biodiverse area of the Amazon rainforest that is home to isolated Indigenous tribes.
The referendum, held on Sunday, asked voters if they agreed to increase the intangible zone in Yasuni National Park from 768,000 hectares to 982,000 hectares and reduce the oil extraction area from 1,030 hectares to 300 hectares. The intangible zone is a protected area where no human activity is allowed.
With more than 90% of the ballots counted by early Monday, approximately six out of every ten Ecuadorians have expressed their opposition to the oil exploration taking place in Block 43, which is located within the Yasuni National Park.The referendum occurred concurrently with the presidential election, which will be determined through a runoff between the leftist candidate Luisa González and the right-wing contender Daniel Noboa.The nation is currently going through political unrest after the assassination of a candidate, Fernando Villavicencio.
“Ecuadorians have come together for this cause to provide a life opportunity for our Indigenous brothers and sisters and also to show the entire world, amidst these challenging times of climate change, that we stand in support of the rainforest,” Nemo Guiquita, a leader of the Waorani tribe, told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
The decision was made following a ten-year campaign by Indigenous and environmentalist groups. They had opposed former president Rafael Correa’s proposal to extract oil in return for global compensation. Correa justified this plan by stating that Ecuador required the oil revenues to support social programs and alleviate poverty.
the activists said that oil drilling would threaten the ecological integrity and cultural diversity of Yasuni National Park, which is home to about 200 species of mammals, 600 species of birds, and more than 100,000 species of insects. The park also hosts two Indigenous groups, the Tagaeri and the Taromenane, who live in voluntary isolation and reject contact with the outside world.
In a statement Monday, Petroecuador said it would await the conclusion of the ballot counting before commenting on the referendum. The company added that it would comply with the decision of the Ecuadorian people.
The referendum applies only to Block 43. Within the Amazon region, oil production extends to other sections of Yasuni park and into Indigenous territories. Accidents are commonplace, mostly through oil spills into the rivers.
“It’s not that we’re going to feel relieved. We can breathe a moment of calm, we’re happy, but there are many more oil wells in Waorani territory causing harm,” said Indigenous leader Guiquita. “We hope that with this public consultation, there will be a path marked by the fact that the decision belongs to the people and that we can remove all those who are extracting oil and polluting our land.”
Relevant Article:
-Ecuadorians vote to reject oil drilling in an area of the Amazon by The Columbian, published on August 22, 2023.
-Ecuadorians Reject Oil Drilling in the Amazon, Ending Operations in a Protected Area by Voice of America, published on August 21, 2023.
-Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon, ending operations in a protected area by Associated Press, published on August 22, 2023.