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Indigenous Peoples and International Law in the Ecuadorian Amazon

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  • Linda Etchart

    (Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, School of Engineering and the Environment, Kingston University, London KT1 2EE, UK)

Abstract

The adoption and ratification of new conventions and treaties under international law designed to protect both Indigenous peoples and the rights of nature have resulted in successful rulings by local, federal, and regional courts in favor of Indigenous groups engaged in class-action suits against their governments. In 2012 and 2019, respectively, the Sarayaku Kichwa and the Huaorani and Cofán peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon won cases against the Ecuadorian government for its lack of consultation on planned oil exploration. Such cases upholding the correct application of the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) under international treaties are rare; more often, Western judicial systems and environmental impact assessments have been used to serve corporate interests, as exemplified by the Aguinda v. Texaco case initiated in 1993 and the planned operations of Andes Petroleum in Orellana province 2019–2020, respectively. Indigenous and non-Western epistemologies tend to be incompatible with state-driven liberal secular capitalism—hence Indigenous efforts to prevent land seizures and the expansion of the extractive frontier into Indigenous territories in the Amazon rainforest have been undermined by the imperatives of modernization/developmentalism. These same forces have stimulated demand for gold, the legal and illegal mining of which, along the Napo river, have caused the contamination of the waters of the Amazon, threatening the health of Indigenous and non-indigenous riverine communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda Etchart, 2022. "Indigenous Peoples and International Law in the Ecuadorian Amazon," Laws, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlawss:v:11:y:2022:i:4:p:55-:d:856563
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carlos Mestanza-Ramón & Jefferson Cuenca-Cumbicus & Giovanni D’Orio & Jeniffer Flores-Toala & Susana Segovia-Cáceres & Amanda Bonilla-Bonilla & Salvatore Straface, 2022. "Gold Mining in the Amazon Region of Ecuador: History and a Review of Its Socio-Environmental Impacts," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bas Arts & Jelle Behagel & Jessica de Koning & Marieke van der Zon, 2023. "Community Forest Management: Weak States or Strong Communities?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(2), pages 336-345.

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