Crude oil processing is an important branch of industry in the country, making up some 42% of the export profit. The maps of concessions for the oil exploitation in the Ecuadorian Amazon-area looks like a chessboard. Rectangles are drawn arbitrarily on the map, numbered into blocks and bartered away amongst different oil companies from abroad. The needs of the indigenous inhabitants or even of the singular uniquness of eco-systems seems to be of no concern to the Ecuadorian state during the sell-out of concessions.	Oil-concessions in the Oriente area (AcciónEcológica1993)	Indigenous people of the Oriente (AcciónEcológica1994)
	Für For amplification of the maps -click on it-

Indigenous groups have engaged in some relatively successful resistance since the beginning of awarding concessions in 1996. However, the effects on the flora, fauna and indigenous people who live there have clearly been disastrous. After nearly 40 years of oil extraction the balance sheet looks sombre: logging of thousands of hectares of rainforest, constant poisoning of the ground, water and the forest, the displacement of animals and people through the burning of gas, sewage pollution, leaking old oil refineries and pipelines etc. After intrusion through the US oil-giant Texaco, one tribe of indigenous people, the Tetetes, disappeared completely through the poisoning of their land, water and the introduction of diseases.

In the year 2001 alone about 4,9 million litres of crude oil escaped from leaking pipelines. In April the governmental SOTE oil-pipeline broke.(built 30 years ago by Texaco and financed by West LB) Through the break, 8.000 to 10.000 barrels of crude oil went into the Papallacta Lake. 40% of the lakes surface, was covered with oil. At the beginning of 2005, further ecologically very important rainforest was polluted from purposefully damaged pipelines in Ecuador. Oil-catastrophies are commonplace. Above a school a pipeline broke, and the oil has completely polluted the surrounding streams. The crude oil was flowing past both sides of the school and has formed a ca.200m² big oil-lake behind the building. newspaperarticle from the broken SOTE-pipline "The air was heavy from the poisonous vapours and a few minutes later we felt sick and the urge to vomite." GLOBAL 2000 media- representative Andreas Baur reports. The longterm effects for the children affected are gruesome as there is no other waterprovision at school but from the streams. A study by Ecuadorian health officials and by Harvard University found an unussally high occurence of eight different forms of cancer caused by the after-effects of oil-extraction.

Lake of oil behind the school building Drinking water basins below the SOTE-pipeline running overground

The list is long, of the destruction of nature and thereby the falling apart of culture, not to mention the climatic changes. Already 40% of the Ecuadorian rainforest have been destroyed by the oil industry. Historically, tobacco, coffee and cacao have been products grown commercialy in the province since the time of colonization. Since the land use policy changes of the late 1960’s, this once impenetrable wilderness has become the backdrop for a modern ecological and cultural warzone . Agriculture and the logging of tropical rainforest for cultivating oil-palm trees, rice, maize, yucca and sugarcane, present an ongoing threat. The destruction of the rainforest by the logging industry is compounded by the clearing of land for raising cattle, which is on the rise.This impenetrable wilderness becomes the scenery for modern destruction.

Indigenous groups that were maintaining themselves in a colonial economic system and hardly altered through the founding of the republic of Ecuador, were largely recognized as "comunas" after a law from 1937 about communal organisation and operation. Until today these communities have formed the backbone of indigenous organisations. There are an estimated 2500 indigenous organisations in Ecuador at present that, since the eighties, are increasingly linked on canton-, province-, national and international levels to pursue a variety of goals. The major goals encompass the official recognition of land rights and of indigenous language and culture, the protection of natural resources, more autonomy and self-government, as well as constitutionally assured recognition of the indigenous jurisdiction along with improved political participation.

There still is limited access for the indigenous peoples to the centres of political decision-making in the country, forcing them to attend to their interests on the street, primarily, though mass- protests and riots. This level of political engagement, calls into Question the legitimacy of the democratic institutions effectiveness to represent or meet the peoples needs. Again and again attacks are made to undermine the organisation of different tribes and their aims, through violent disputes, threats, murders and bribery. Politically one-sided decisions have illustrated the fact that the Ecuadorian military doesn't support its own population, but backs the oil giants and their production sites. Shots are fired at protectors of Pachamama. (Quichwa for mother earth) Yearly payments from the U.S. to Ecuador are declared as military aid, in the framework of the anti-drug-packet "Plan Colombia" (2003 -30 million US$ !!! 2004 -45 million US$ ) Deeper matters about the "Plan Colombia" you will find in our "Cofan-tribe in trouble" web-page.

"Thiefs out, Perenco"

P avaricious oil-companies E egoists and liars R steal our abundance E they cheat the people N never accomplish their offers C corrupt leader O cause dearth

More information about this you can see in our locally made short movie. Soon to be downloaded here.