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The Department of Hydrocarbons of the Ministry of Non-Renewable Natural Resources in Ecuador began announcing its XI Round of Oil Concessions as early as mid 2010.
This new oil round was created to explore and drill in 21 blocks or sections of land of the South Central basin of the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador. These blocks cover the provinces of Orellana, Pastaza and Morona Santiago – which mean that a surface of 3,000.000 hectares could be affected by this initiative.
Our sister organization, Fundación Pachamama, tells us that ancestral territories of seven different indigenous nations are located within the cited 3,000.000 hectares, and that 100% of the territories of the following nationalities could be affected if this round of concessions goes through:
- Achuar
- Andoa
- Sapara
- Shiwiar
Other territories would also see a significant impact. The Kichwa people would be affected in 96.53%, the Waorani in 16.34%, and the Shuar in 70.45%. Altogether this is 75,91% of indigenous territories.
