DOCSLIB.ORG

Harm from Oil Operations in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Harm from Oil Operations in the Ecuadorian Amazon CRUDE ASSEMBLAGES: HARM FROM OIL OPERATIONS IN THE ECUADORIAN AMAZON Amelia Morel Fiske A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology. Chapel Hill 2016 Approved by: Margaret Wiener Peter Redfield Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld Barry Saunders Michele Rivkin-Fish © 2016 Amelia Morel Fiske ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Amelia Morel Fiske: Crude Assemblages: Harm from Oil Operations in the Ecuadorian Amazon (Under the direction of Margaret Wiener) The Ecuadorian Amazon has been the site of intensive oil operations for the past 40 years, resulting in widespread contamination of the environment and health problems for the local population. Concerns about harm from oil have gathered a multiplicity of actors in this region invested in documenting oil’s effects. Scientists and other researchers have sought to establish the relationship between oil contamination, chronic and acute disease, and environmental damage in this area. Despite decades of investigations, however, what counts as evidence of harm remains disputed and consensus has not been reached on the consequences of oil operations for those living in their vicinity. This dissertation demonstrates that what we call ‘harm’ from oil emerges and is given form in a highly contested terrain, and tracks how the experiences of those closest to pollution are written out of legal evidence and scientific studies. Drawing on 24 months of ethnographic field research in the Sucumbíos and Orellana provinces of Ecuador, I examine the ways that a lawsuit and scientific studies – in conjunction with regulatory practices, artistic representations, environmental activism, political campaigns, industry archives, and my own ethnographic research and writing – constitute moments of intervention in which different actors work to establish, account for, or discount harm (daño) from oil. I show how harm is made to matter through such interventions, and demonstrate how iii these practices are embedded in histories of inequality and hierarchies of knowledge production. Defining what counts as harm in light of contemporary oil extraction involves high stakes for all concerned; my dissertation argues for prevention and remediation in despite uncertain knowledge. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was made possible by a number of sources, including the Social Science Research Council, Wenner-Gren Foundation, National Science Foundation, UNC Graduate School, UNC Institute for Study of the Americas (Mellon Dissertation Fellowship for Latin American Research, Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship, Tinker Pre-Dissertation Research Grant), Mitchell Institute, and Bowdoin College. In Ecuador I am grateful for the time and generosity of many people who made this project possible. There are far too many individuals than will fit in the space here; in what follows I can only offer a gesture of my appreciation. Kati and Sebastián Alvarez fed me habas y choclo and took me under their roof whenever I was in Quito. Donald Moncayo let me to follow along as he did his work; his unyielding compromiso to making his home a better place for Leonela and generations to come left an indelible mark on me. Mitch Anderson’s acute vision helped me to find the myth in truth and the truth in myth in the history of the Amazon. From listening to Silvio Rodriguez over winding jungle roads to maitos in the fading heat of the day, time with Mitch, Donald and collaborators mark some of my dearest memories of life in Lago. Jorge Mideros spent countless hours answering my questions; thank you for your work remediating contaminated places. Luis Arias delighted me with stories of earlier years and invited me to many an encebollado. Likewise, Shaila Carvajal’s nimble fingers and lovely voice allowed me to imagine life in Lago Agrio in years prior. Mariana Jimenez was patient with my v inquiries and generous with her time; thank you for sharing parts of your life with me. Manuel Pallares’ discerning vision inspired new branches of inquiry growing out of this research. I would like to acknowledge the people at the Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía and thank them for their inclusion of me in their work: Ermel Chavez, Alba Gonzaga, Liber Macias, Juan Espejo, Luis Yanza, Maximo Gonzaga, Wilmer Meneses, Manuel Zambrano, and many more. In particular, Pablo Fajardo took time to assist me in various parts of this project, despite his busy schedule. Whether along the cool of the Aguarico on a Saturday afternoon or sharing stories over a pilsner, I am grateful for the friends who helped make Lago Agrio home over the course of two years: Beatriz Romero, Alfredo López, Luz Arpi, Esteban Salazar, Elizabeth Bastidias, Diego Róman, Alfredo Quiroga, Arturo Quiroga, Nicoletta Roccabianca, Andrea Cianferoni, as well as friends in Quito, in particular, Alex Báez, Marie-Pierre Smets, Maria Belén Tayupanta and family, and Lindsay Ofrias. Both in Ecuador and the United States, I am grateful to Robert Wasserstrom for his attention to historical specificity and help at many points throughout this research. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill my debts are equally large. I have been fortunate to work with superb faculty members in the Anthropology Department, as well as in Geography, Literature, and the Institute for the Study of the Americas. Michele Rivkin-Fish’s attention to health and social justice has shaped the direction of this text. Rudi Colloredo- Mansfeld always found a way to see things in a positive light, helping me to think extraction beyond Ecuador. Thank you to Barry Saunders for his careful reading, gentle critique, and intellectual generosity. I am grateful for Peter Redfield’s pragmatism. His appreciation for scholarly lineages and keen insights as a reader has challenged my thinking, while reminding me vi not to take anthropology too seriously. Above all, Margaret Wiener has shaped the direction of this project since the beginning and helped me to see it through. Her meticulous reading has pushed me to write more clearly and concisely. I remain grateful for her careful interpretation of theory and intellectual encouragement, which have given me bearing over the years. Through classes and writing groups, many colleagues and friends have made this passage a more enjoyable journey: Taylor Livingston, Kelly Houck, Laura Wagner, Caela O’Connell, Cassandra Hartblay, Diana Gómez, Dayuma Albán, Marwa Yousif, Hyun-joo Mo, Mike Dimfl, Chris Courtheyn, Ben Rubin, Vincent Joos, and Paul Schissel. Paolo Bocci suffered through many drafts, at times offering a much-needed distraction of timbales. Saydia Gulrukh shared the burden when writing became too heavy. Dragana Lassiter, my writing partner, has been my companion and accomplice throughout graduate school. She, as well as Michael, Jana, and Sava, have opened their home to me, helped me to find the breeze in life, and continue to remind me how thankful I am to have had this time together. My family and friends have been continuously supportive throughout this process. Mindy Newman’s intuition keeps me on track. Katinka Hakuta lent her sharp eyes to many a grant proposal. Becca Ely and Eliza Hutchinson’s energy never fails to motivate. Brittany Peats offered a good dose of reason when needed. Lucy and the Sommo sisters make Appleton home. Carson Fiske, along with Becky, Zachary, and Ainsley, have all been there from the beginning, prodding me with questions to help me move towards finishing. Elizabeth Donnelly and Joseph Sheehan lifted my spirits from afar. Andrea Ricci sent along a much-needed Pocket Coffee to get me through the final summer of writing; I couldn’t be happier to plot life post-school together. My parents, Patty Sheehan and Richard Fiske, have enthusiastically supported me throughout this and many other endeavors, for which I am forever thankful. Finally, although she never vii would have approved of travelling so far away from home, Marguerite Sheehan’s love is still felt today. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES……..……………………………………………………………………….xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS….………………….……………………………………….……xiv INTRODUCTION…….…………………………………………………………………………..1 Memo: Suppose I told you to go into a forest and find something………………………..1 What is harm?......................................................................................................................5 The field……………………………………………………………….............................10 Extractive histories……………………………………………………………….............15 Aguinda v. Texaco…………………………………….………………………….............23 Un par de chozas: Sucumbíos and Orellana……………………………………………..27 Chapter Overview………………………………………………………………………..31 AN INTRODUCTION TO OIL OPERATIONS ………………………………………………..36 CHAPTER 1: MEMOIR OF AN OIL WELL: SETTLEMENT AND INDUSTRY ALONG THE AGUARICO………………………………………………..…….............48 A spot on the Aguarico…………………………………………………………………..48 Texaco arrives: AG4……………………………………………………………………..54 Drilling a well……………………………………………………………………………62 The arrival of the settlers………………………………………………………………...69 Lago Agrio grows………………………………………………………………………..79 Not even a pig left as a witness…………………………………………………………..85 ix Lago Agrio today………………………………………………………………………...92 CHAPTER 2: DESNUDA FRENTE A LA CONTAMINACION: TOXIC EXPOSURE IN THE AMAZON……………………………………………………………................95 Desnuda frente a la contaminación……………………………………………………...95 Toxic Relations…………………………………………………………………………..99 Exposure science……………………………………………………………………….103
Load more

Recommended publications
  • POPULATION DYNAMICS of the AMAZONIAN PALM Mauritia Flexuosa: MODEL DEVELOPMENT and SIMULATION ANALYSIS
    POPULATION DYNAMICS OF THE AMAZONIAN PALM Mauritia flexuosa: MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND SIMULATION ANALYSIS By JENNIFER A. HOLM A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 1 © 2007 Jennifer A. Holm 2 To my family who encouraged me at a young age, to keep striving for academic knowledge, and to my friends 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully thank my supervisory committee, Dr. Kainer and Dr. Bruna, and most importantly my committee chair, Dr. Wendell P. Cropper Jr. for their time and effort. I acknowledge the School of Natural Resources and Conservation, the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and the Tropical Conservation and Development Program, the United States Forest Service, and the Fulbright Scholar Program for funding and guidance. Data collection in Ecuador was conducted with the help from Dr. Christopher Miller, Drs. Eduardo Asanza and Ana Cristina Sosa, Joaquin Salazar, and all the Siona people of Cuyabeno Faunal Reserve. Data collected in Peru was conducted with the help from Weninger Pinedo Flores, Exiles Guerra, Gerardo Bértiz, Dr. Jim Penn, and with the generosity of Paul and Dolly Beaver of the Tahuayo Lodge. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for their support through my education experience, Heather, Chris, friends, and fellow graduate students. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4
    [Show full text]
  • Downloads/Spm Unedited Advance for Posting Htn.Pdf (Accessed on 2 April 2021)
    water Article Variations in Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities and Biological Quality in the Aguarico and Coca River Basins in the Ecuadorian Amazon Santiago Cabrera 1,2,*, Marie Anne Eurie Forio 1 , Koen Lock 1, Marte Vandenbroucke 3, Tania Oña 2, Miguel Gualoto 4, Peter L. M. Goethals 1 and Christine Van der heyden 3 1 Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Block F, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; [email protected] (M.A.E.F.); [email protected] (K.L.); [email protected] (P.L.M.G.) 2 Natural Resources Career, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Universidad Técnica del Norte, Avenida 17 de julio 5-21 y Gral, José María Córdova, Ibarra EC100150, Ecuador; [email protected] 3 Health and Water Technology Research Centre, Hogeschool Gent/University of Applied Science and Arts, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium; [email protected] (M.V.); [email protected] (C.V.d.h.) 4 Environmental Engineering Career, Faculty of Engineering and Agrarian Sciences, Universidad de Las Américas, J. Queri, Quito 59302, Ecuador; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Citation: Cabrera, S.; Eurie Forio, Abstract: Adequate environmental management in tropical aquatic ecosystems is imperative. Given M.A.; Lock, K.; Vandenbroucke, M.; the lack of knowledge about functional diversity and bioassessment programs, management is Oña, T.; Gualoto, M.; Goethals, P.L.M.; missing the needed evidence on pollution and its effect on biodiversity and functional ecology. Van der heyden, C. Variations in Therefore, we investigated the composition and distribution of the macroinvertebrate community Benthic Macroinvertebrate along two rivers.
    [Show full text]
  • Promoting Forest Conservation Through Ecotourism Income?
    ISSN 0854-9818 OCCASIONAL PAPER NO. 21 March 1999 Promoting Forest Conservation through Ecotourism Income? A case study from the Ecuadorian Amazon region Sven Wunder CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL FORESTRY RESEARCH Office address: Jalan CIFOR, Situ Gede, Sindangbarang, Bogor 16680, Indonesia Mailing address: P.O. Box 6596 JKPWB, Jakarta 10065, Indonesia Tel.: +62 (251) 622622; Fax: +62 (251) 622100 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.cgiar.org/cifor Contents Summary 1 Tourism, Economics and Conservation 1 The Study Area: Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuador 3 The Quichuas: A Salary Model 5 The Cofans of Zábalo: An Autonomous Model 6 The Siona-Secoyas: An Intermediate Model 9 A Comparison of Local Tourism Income 11 Socioeconomic Impacts 13 Environmental Impacts 14 Conclusions and Recommendations 17 Endnotes 19 Literature Cited 23 Figure Figure 1. From tourism participation to conservation 3 Map Map 1. Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 4 Tables Table 1. Mutual obligations of Transturi and the Zancudo community according to 1994 Letter of Agreement (LoA) 6 Table 2. Zancudo tourism income 6 Table 3. Playas de Cuyabeno tourism income 7 Table 4. Zábalo yearly tourism income 8 Table 5. San Pablo tourism income 10 Table 6. Puerto Bolívar yearly tourism income, from collaboration with Nuevo Mundo and Neotropic agencies 11 Table 7. Comparing local tourism income in Cuyabeno villages 12 Table 8. Examples of potential conflicts between the goals of raising local tourism income and of minimising social and environmental impacts 19 List of Acronyms BMZ Bundesministerium
    [Show full text]
  • Toward an Understanding of the Cultural Transformations of the Secoya and an Interactive Approach to Sustainable Development at Siecoya Remolino
    TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE CULTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE SECOYA AND AN INTERACTIVE APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT SIECOYA REMOLINO A Professional Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University and the Yanapuma Foundation in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Public Administration by Justine Faye Oller May 2008 ©2008 Justine Faye Oller Introduction This project is a culmination of the author’s work with the Ecuadorian NGO, Fundación Yanapuma or the Yanapuma Foundation, during the summer of 2007. In addition, it is the result of the author’s extensive research conducted over the past year into the economic, social and political conditions that have affected and shaped the development experience of an indigenous group located in Ecuador’s lower Amazon basin, the Secoya Nation. In the summer of 2007, the author had the opportunity to travel to Siecoya Remolino, a community of indigenous Secoyas, to live for a time with the community located there. Much of the information presented in this report is the result of the author’s interviews with Secoyas at Remolino. Information regarding projects currently underway in the community is the result of both interviews with community members and site visits to various project locations. The author’s work was performed on behalf of the Secoya community at Remolino and the Yanapuma foundation, which has recently begun to work with the community in support of the community’s effort toward preserving their culture through sustainable development. The Yanapuma Foundation is a nongovernmental organization founded in Ecuador in September of 2005.
    [Show full text]
  • A Linguistic Analysis of Old Omagua Ecclesiastical Texts
    Lev Michael and Zachary O’Hagan i Cadernos de Etnolingüística (Série Monografias, 4) A Linguistic Analysis of Old Omagua Ecclesiastical Texts by Lev Michael Zachary O'Hagan University of California, Berkeley 2016 ii A Linguistic Analysis of Old Omagua Ecclesiastical Texts Cadernos de Etnolingüística ISSN 1946-7095 Editors: J. Pedro Viegas Barros Mônica Veloso Borges Eduardo Rivail Ribeiro Hein van der Voort Série Monografias, 4 A Linguistic Analysis of Old Omagua Ecclesiastical Texts by Lev Michael and Zachary O'Hagan 176 pp. ISBN 978-0-9846008-3-0 © Lev Michael and Zachary O'Hagan Wide, non-commercial distribution of this work is encouraged, both electronically and in print, provided its contents and form remain unaltered. Available for download at http://www.etnolinguistica.org/mono:4 Submitted on June 7, 2013 Revised on December 17, 2014 Published on March 7, 2016 Contents List of Tables vi List of Figures vii Acknowledgments ix Morphemes and Abbreviations x 1 Introduction 1 2 Grammatical Sketch of Old Omagua 5 2.1 Phonological Inventory . .6 2.2 Morphology . .7 2.2.1 Person-Marking . .7 2.2.1.1 Paradigms . .7 2.2.1.2 Vowel Hiatus Resolution . .9 2.2.2 Nominal Morphology . .9 2.2.2.1 Number . 10 2.2.2.2 Augmentative & Diminutive . 11 2.2.2.3 Nominal Past Tense =puRa ..................... 12 2.2.2.4 Nominal Future Tense =Ra ..................... 12 2.2.2.5 Possession . 13 2.2.3 Verbal Morphology . 13 2.2.3.1 Tense-Aspect-Mood . 14 2.2.3.1.1 Tense . 14 2.2.3.1.2 Imperfective =aRi ...................
    [Show full text]
  • A Linguistic Analysis of Old Omagua Ecclesiastical Texts
    Lev Michael and Zachary O’Hagan i Cadernos de Etnolingüística (Série Monografias, 4) A Linguistic Analysis of Old Omagua Ecclesiastical Texts by Lev Michael Zachary O'Hagan University of California, Berkeley 2016 ii A Linguistic Analysis of Old Omagua Ecclesiastical Texts Cadernos de Etnolingüística ISSN 1946-7095 Editors: J. Pedro Viegas Barros Mônica Veloso Borges Eduardo Rivail Ribeiro Hein van der Voort Série Monografias, 4 A Linguistic Analysis of Old Omagua Ecclesiastical Texts by Lev Michael and Zachary O'Hagan 176 pp. ISBN 978-0-9846008-3-0 © Lev Michael and Zachary O'Hagan Wide, non-commercial distribution of this work is encouraged, both electronically and in print, provided its contents and form remain unaltered. Available for download at http://www.etnolinguistica.org/mono:4 Submitted on June 7, 2013 Revised on December 17, 2014 Published on March 7, 2016 Contents List of Tables vi List of Figures vii Acknowledgments ix Morphemes and Abbreviations x 1 Introduction 1 2 Grammatical Sketch of Old Omagua 5 2.1 Phonological Inventory . 6 2.2 Morphology . 7 2.2.1 Person-Marking . 7 2.2.1.1 Paradigms . 7 2.2.1.2 Vowel Hiatus Resolution . 9 2.2.2 Nominal Morphology . 9 2.2.2.1 Number . 10 2.2.2.2 Augmentative & Diminutive . 11 2.2.2.3 Nominal Past Tense =puRa ..................... 12 2.2.2.4 Nominal Future Tense =Ra ..................... 12 2.2.2.5 Possession . 13 2.2.3 Verbal Morphology . 13 2.2.3.1 Tense-Aspect-Mood . 14 2.2.3.1.1 Tense . 14 2.2.3.1.2 Imperfective =aRi ...................
    [Show full text]
  • Oil Politics and Urbanization in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon
    THE MILLENNIUM CITY: OIL POLITICS AND URBANIZATION IN THE NORTHERN ECUADORIAN AMAZON Angus Lyall A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Geography. Chapel Hill 2020 Approved by: Gabriela Valdivia Elizabeth Havice Christian Lentz Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld John Pickles © 2020 Angus Lyall ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Angus Lyall: The Millennium City: Oil Politics and Urbanization in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon (Under the direction of Gabriela Valdivia) Oil production in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon has facilitated the urbanization of some of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests. New highways into the jungle, snaking pipelines, and population centers have followed in the wake of oil explorations and drilling over the last fifty years. Oil companies and the state have also sought indigenous consent to oil production in their territories in exchange for infrastructures, such as roads, electrification, and, in a few cases, urban-like settlements. Researchers, environmentalists, and engaged citizens have denounced urban development in indigenous territories as an unsustainable imposition of Western culture on otherwise isolated, unwilling or unwitting communities. However, such narratives overlook the social legacies of prior waves of colonial capitalism in the northern Amazon. Histories of racism and racial capitalism are often erased by ahistorical representations of the Amazon as a timeless, uniform space of pre-Hispanic cultures, effectively obscuring the violence that produced modern Amazonía. In this dissertation, I detail the history of an indigenous community of subsistence farmers, fisher-people, and hunters that recently negotiated with the state oil company to receive an urban-like settlement in the rainforest.
    [Show full text]
  • Oil Development, Deforestation, and Indigenous Populations in the Ecuadorian Amazon
    Oil Development, Deforestation, and Indigenous Populations in the Ecuadorian Amazon Professor Douglas Southgate Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210 U.S.A. ([email protected]) Robert Wasserstrom, Ph.D. Terra Group 86 Cambridge Drive, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033 ([email protected]) and Susan Reider Terra Group P.O. Box 98011 Houston, TX 77098 ([email protected]) Presented to the Latin American Studies Association in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11-14 June 2009 Introduction For hundreds of years, scientists have been fascinated with the Amazon basin, known in Ecuador as the Oriente. More recently, this region has also become a focus for environmental and social activism, particularly regarding biodiversity and indigenous people. In this paper, we examine two major activist concerns: deforestation and the dislocation of indigenous communities.1 More generally, we examine a 15-year campaign waged by environmental groups against petroleum development in eastern Ecuador, which has strongly influenced international public perception of events there. This campaign has evolved a “standard narrative” that attributes virtually all disruption in the Oriente to oil. Many facts are not in dispute. Between 1972 and 1992, as many as 350,000 Ecuadorian homesteaders from other provinces moved into the northern Oriente, onto lands traditionally used by three indigenous groups: the Cofán, Siona-Secoya and Huaorani. “Colonization” brought widespread hardship and dispossession for these groups, along with deforestation and other environmental impacts. In this paper, we use ethno-historical information, government documents and other sources to analyze the causes of deforestation and the dispossession of indigenous land.
    [Show full text]
  • Wasserstrom Indigenous ENG.Pdf
    Response to Mr. Cabrera’s Errors Concerning Indigenous Populations In the Petroecuador-Texaco Concession Area Prepared by: Dr. Robert Wasserstrom Senior Partner Terra Group Houston, Texas Dr. Wasserstrom’s Biographical Summary Robert Wasserstrom, Ph.D.: Dr. Robert Wasserstrom is an anthropologist with a doctorate from Harvard University (1977). Currently, he directs a group of social consultants in Houston, Texas, with long experience in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and Central America, as well as in Africa and Asia. Between 1977 and 1981 was a professor at the School of Public Health at Columbia University (New York) and Southern Methodist University (Dallas). Afterwards, he served as project manager at the World Resources Institute (an environmental NGO in Washington, DC) and as vice president Browning-Ferris Industries, the second largest company in the world in solid waste management. He also has advised several foundations and international development organizations, including the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, the Inter-American Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund. In Ecuador, he participated as an advisor in the creation of EcoFondo. He has published four books and more 75 technical papers in various professional journals. Certification by Author This attached report accurately represents my knowledge and opinions on this matter. Date Response to Mr. Cabrera’s Errors Concerning Indigenous Populations In the Petroecuador-Texaco Concession Area Conclusions After carefully examining the main historical, anthropological and social references that could be located, I have reached the following conclusions: 1. During the years that the Texaco-Petroecuador Consortium operated in Ecuador, we have found no evidence for the systematic extermination of a “national, racial or religious group,” which the United Nations defines as genocide.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecuador's Amazon Region : Development Issues and Options / James F
    WDP-75 Public Disclosure Authorized World Bank Discussion Papers Ecuador'sAmazon Public Disclosure Authorized Region DevelopmentIssues and Options Public Disclosure Authorized James F. Hicks with the collaboration of Herman E. Daly, Shelton H. Davis, and Maria de Lourdes de Freitas Public Disclosure Authorized RECENTWORLD BANK DISCUSSIONPAPERS No. 16. MacroeconomicPolicies and Adjustmentin Yugoslavia:Some CounterfactualSimulations. FahrettinYagci and StevenKamin No. 17. PrivateEnterprise in Africa: Creatinga BetterEnvironment. Keith Marsden and ThereseBelot No. 18. RuralWater SuPPlYand Sanitation:Time for a Chanqe. AnthonyA. Churchill,with the assistanceof Davidde Ferranti,Robert Roche, Carolyn Tager, Alan A. Walters,and AnthonyYazer No. 19. The PublicRevenue and EconomicPolicy in AfricanCountries: An Overviewof Issuesand Policy Options. DennisAnderson No. 22. DemographicTrends in China from 1950 to 1982. KennethHill No. 23. Food ImportDependence in Somalia: Magnitude,Causes, and FPolicyOptions. Y. HosseinFarzin No. 24. The Relationshipof ExternalDebt and Growth: Sudan'sExperience, 1975-1984. Y. Hossein Farzin No. 25. The Poor and the Poorest: Some InterimFindings. Michael Lipton No. 26. Road TransportTaxation in DevelopingCountries: The Designof User Chargesand Taxesfor Tunisia. David Newbery,Gordon Hughes, William D.O. Paterson,and Esra Bennathan No. 27. Tradeand IndustrialPolicies in the DevelopingCountries o1 EastAsia. AmarendraBhattacharya and JohannesF. Linn No. 28. AgriculturalTrade Protectionism in Japan: A Survey. DelbertA. Fitchett No. 29. MultisectorFramework for Analysisof Stabilizationand StructuralAdjustment Policies: The Case of Morocco. Abel M. Mateusand others No. 30. Improvingthe Qualityof Textbooksin China. BarbaraW. Searleand MichaelMertaugh with AnthonyRead and PhilipCohen No. 31. Small Farmersin SouthAsia: TheirCharacteristics, Productivity, and Efficiency.Inderjit Siingh No. 32. Tenancyin SouthAsia. InderjitSingh No. 33. Land and Laborin SouthAsia. InderjitSingh No. 35. GlobalTrends in Real ExchangeRates. AdrianWood No.
    [Show full text]
  • Siecoya Remolino Community Support Proposal
    YANAPUMA FOUNDATION AND ORGANIZACIÓN INDÍGENA SECOYA DEL ECUADOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY: COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROPOSAL Prepared for: Yanapuma Foundation E8-125 Veintimilla Quito, Ecuador and Organización Indígena Secoya del Ecuador Prepared by: Justine Oller Cornell Institute for Public Affairs 124 Caldwell Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 December 18, 2007 Strategic Context and Rationale Traditionally a nomadic people, the Secoya once occupied scattered, autonomous settlements located in territory that extended from the north bank of the Napo River to the south bank of the Putamayo River close to the present border between Ecuador and Colombia. Most settlements were situated around the Aguarico River, which flows through the northeastern Ecuadorian Amazon, the southeastern Colombian Amazon and the northwestern Peruvian Amazon. The remaining 500 members of the Ecuadorian Secoya Nation are currently located in the following three communities: the Secoya San Pablo de Catëtsiaya, Siecoya Remolino, located in San Roque Parish, Shushufindi Canton, Sucumbíos Province; and Secoya Eno, located in Tarapoa Parish, Cuyabeno Canton, Sucumbíos Province. Over the history of their occupation in this territory, the Secoya people have been witness to countless regional transformations that have affected their cultural and social systems. The Secoya people have been displaced, lost land rights through the formation political boundaries, changed their core belief system and developed a sophisticated mechanism for navigating political participation in the international arena. The late 20th Century brought the most rapid and aggressive change in the recorded history of the culture, as a consortium of oil companies located substantial oil reserves in what was geographically denominated “Block 15” of Secoya Nation territory.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparison of Deep-River and Adjacent Sandy-Beach Fish Assemblages in the Napo River Basin, Eastern Ecuador
    Copeia, 2002(2), pp. 333±343 Comparison of Deep-River and Adjacent Sandy-Beach Fish Assemblages in the Napo River Basin, Eastern Ecuador DONALD J. STEWART,MYRIAM IBARRA, AND RAMIRO BARRIGA-SALAZAR We sampled ®shes with a small trawl in the deep midchannel and with beach seines on nearby sandy beaches at ®ve sites along two parallel headwater tributaries of the upper Amazon in Eastern Ecuador. We quanti®ed ecological distance between ®sh as- semblages of deep-river and beach habitats and compared assemblage composition, species richness, and diversity. Results of detrended correspondence analyses (DCA) and two-way indicator species analyses (TWINSPAN) clearly revealed the presence of a striking faunal change (i.e., about 92% dissimilarity) between beach-zone and off-shore ®shes. The boundary between these assemblages occurred at about 2 m depth. Beach samples collected as far apart as 325 km were more similar to each other than to trawl samples taken only 10s of meters away. The beach-zone ®sh assemblage was strongly dominated by small characins, whereas the deep-river habitat was dominated by cat®shes and weakly electric gymnotiforms. Apparent adaptations to deep-water habitats included small size, ¯attened or elongated body, ventral mouths, reduced eyes, and sensory spe- cializations for life in what may be a nearly light-less environment (e.g., chemo- and electroreceptors). Visually oriented ®shes and those dependent on algal or detrital foods were mostly absent from the deep-river samples. We caught many more species along the beaches, but after correcting for higher numbers of individuals collected in beach habitats, species richness was not noticeably different between the two habitats.
    [Show full text]