Articles

“This constitutes a deepening of extractive policy in Ecuador and a violation of individual and collective civil rights, especially the right to previous consultation, as communities have not been consulted regarding the award of concessions in favour of mining companies. The consolidation of the extractivist model will contribute to increased violence towards affected communities, evidencing … Read More

First published in LA HORA, 26 March 2018 The risk of an epidemic in the mountain known as El Lomón, El Triunfo community, Buenos Aires parish, Urcuquí canton, is high. The lives of the miners are essentially held by a thread, not dissimilar to that formed by the tiny splinters of gold that appear in … Read More

The richest and most powerful in Ecuador do not like to pay taxes. That is why now, after 10 years, the elites have a new ally: Lenín Moreno. His submission to the pressures of big capital has meant that in one year of management he has moved away from the role for which he was … Read More

Environmental groups and human-rights defenders argued against the increase in global development, particularly against mining in protested forests and on Indigenous land. The Melbourne Rainforest Action Group (MRAG) was joined by the Latin American Solidarity Network, Mapuche-Aboriginal Struggles for Indigenous Land and FrontLine Against Coal for three actions that took place over the week. Protestors … Read More

The fable tells the story of a milkmaid on her way to market carrying a pitcher full of milk on her head. On the way, she was thinking about what she would do with all the money she would receive from selling the milk: she would buy chickens that, when raised, would multiply and could … Read More

Quite apart from the ecological impacts of mining in forested areas, mining has significant environmental impacts, including long term contamination of soil and water sources, formation of sinkholes, and the production of large amounts of toxic waste, or tailings. Australia has strict regulatory watchdogs to ensure safe environmental practices. The news items below however, show … Read More

Today, the Mayor of the Cotacachi Municipality in the Imbabura Province of Ecuador, issued a formal denunciation to BHP Billiton over their mining concessions in the area, with particular concerns over their transgressions in protected reserves and conservation areas. Mining concessions totalling 22,570 hectares were given to BHP in the Cotacachi Canton despite unanimous rejection … Read More

Many of the mining concessions being handed out in Ecuador are within protected forests and indigenous reserves in outright violation of Ecuador’s Constitution.  No prior consultation occurred with affected communities. The degradation of protected areas, such as Bosques Protectores (Protected Forests), and the spread of mining roads and camps (and eventually mines) within the buffer zones … Read More

Heated clashes occurred between community members and security forces at Ecuagold’s Chinese owned Río Blanco mine this past week, with several arrests being made and reports that 3 leaders of the Ecuarunari, the national confederation of the Kichwa people, were abducted by mine workers. This mine is one of Ecuador’s five strategic mining projects and … Read More