Category Archives: Ecological Struggles
Indigenous Protests Grow as Ecuador Auctions Amazon Oil Blocks
Hundreds contest “XI Round” oil licensing
Quito, Ecuador – Hundreds of indigenous people gathered outside the Marriott Hotel in Quito today at the VII Annual Meeting of Oil and Energy where the Ecuadorian government announced the opening of the XI Round, an oil auction in which 13 oil blocks went on sale covering nearly eight million acres of rainforest in the Amazonian provinces of Pastaza and Morona Santiago near the border with Peru.
Led by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the Confederation of Amazonian Indigenous Nationalities (CONFENIAE) and representing seven indigenous nationalities, the group overtook the entrance to the hotel and were meet by military, police, private security forces and pepper spray. Several indigenous leaders entered the meeting and publicly confronted Minister of Non-Renewable Energy Wilson Pastor.
“CONFENIAE was never consulted about this,” said Franco Viteri, President of CONFENIAE. “Our position on oil extraction is clear: We are absolutely opposed.” Read the rest of this entry
Raising Resistance: Solidarity with the Unist’ot’en, November 27th
In inspiring resistance this past week, the Unist’ot’en and Grassroots Wet’suwet’en have, yet again, evicted pipelines from their territories!
On November 20th, Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Toghestiy intercepted and issued an eagle feather to surveyors from the Can-Am Geomatics company who were working for Apache’s proposed natural gas Pacific Trails Pipeline (PTP). In Wet’suwet’en law, an eagle feather is used as a first and only notice of trespass. The surveyors were ordered to leave the territory and the road leading into the territory has been closed to all industry activities until further notice. The materials that were left behind by the work crew are being held until Apache and PTP agree to open up appropriate lines of communication with the Unist’ot’en and grassroots Wet’suwet’en according to the Free Prior and Informed Consent protocol and laws of their unceded territories. The Unist’ot’en are against all pipelines slated to cross through their territories, which include Enbridge Northern Gateway, Kinder Morgans northern proposal, Pembina, and Spectra. Read the rest of this entry
Quebecois Government Concedes to the Algonquins of Barriere Lake
The Algonquins of Barriere Lake have gained an unexpected victory in their decades-long struggle to secure their land rights and protect areas of cultural, spiritual and biological importance.
After carrying out a series of successful actions against Resolute Forest Products, the Quebec government and forestry company agreed to respect a key portion of the1991 Trilateral agreement, a landmark sustainable development, conservation, and resource co-management plan for some 10,000 square kilometers of the Algonquin’s traditional territory. Read the rest of this entry
