J. Michael Trevino, Vice President of Texaco in 1993, wrote:
 

“. . . during our years of operation [in the Oriente], Texaco consistently complied with the prevailing laws and regulations of Ecuador as well as the company’s own operating practices which often go beyond the environmental laws and regulations of countries around the globe. . . . In short, we were not only a responsible corporate citizen in Ecuador, but a good neighbor to the people there.  In Ecuador, as elsewhere, responsible stewardship and respect for the environment has been our policy.”

Contradicting Trevino’s optimistic and positive view of the situation, Arceliano Illanez, an Ecuadorian indigenous leader commented: “Before Texaco came to Ecuador, our rivers, lakes, and streams had many fish, our waters were clean, and there was ample game in the forest.  Now, our rivers are contaminated, the fish have disappeared, and the animals have gone away.”

Indeed, Texaco’s ecological damage to the Amazon region in Ecuador has had continuing consequences for many rainforest people.  Did Texaco and by extension the national and multinational oil corporations operating in the Ecuadorian Amazon basin overlook their environmental stewardship responsibility?  Clearly, those most harmed by the seventeen million gallons of oil spilled into the fragile rainforest environment believe so.  And Texaco, currently the defendant in a New York district court suit, claims the opposite.  How did Texaco become involved in oil production in Ecuador?  How did the government of Ecuador respond to the promise of petroleum reserves? What has been the impact of petroleum exploration drilling?  How has the international environmental community responded to the plight of the rainforest peoples?  What is the future of the rainforest and its peoples?  This paper explores these questions.

Ecuador is a small South American country wedged between Columbia, Peru, and the Pacific Ocean.  This small country is approximately 281, 341 square kilometers or 108,623 square miles.  The Andes mountain range runs through the western portion of Ecuador.   Consequently, a successful petroleum industry in Ecuador would not be possible without a Trans-Andean pipeline.  Texaco built a 498-kilometer Trans-Ecuadorian pipeline for a cost of $150,000.   Construction of a Trans-Andean pipeline was a clause included in the 1969 re-negotiations between Texaco and the Velasco Ibarra government.  The pipeline construction was completed in 1972 and transportation of oil from the fields in the east, over the Andes, to ports on the West Coast began immediately.

Texaco-Gulf entered Ecuador’s petroleum market rather deviously.  The government granted Minas y Petróleos de Ecuador a concession of 4,350,000 hectares (1 hectare = 2.47 acres) in the northern Oriente on August 26, 1961.  The minister of development and mines, Jaime Acosta Velasco, signed the concession.  Two firms operated Minas y petróleos, Phoenix Canada Oil Co. of Toronto and Norsul Oil and Mining Ltd. of Albany, Georgia.  Howard Strouth controlled both of the firms.  Minas y Petróleos transferred its Oriente holding to another pair of companies: Compañía Petrolera Pastaza and Compañía Petrolea Aguarica.  These two companies in turn sold a 1,650,000 hectare concession to Texaco-Gulf on December 20, 1965.  Later, it was discovered that Texaco-Gulf was a parent company of the two companies.  All of these transactions were completed without the knowledge of the government, and the transaction would soon prove to be very profitable for Texaco-Gulf.

Lago Agrio No.1, which was transferred to Texaco-Gulf by Minas y Petróleos, produced 2,730 barrels on March 29, 1967.   Until then no one knew that Ecuador had major subsoil petroleum deposits.   Due to the “oil rush” created by the1967 production, Ecuador decided to renegotiate the terms of the concession with Texaco.  The Ecuadorian government reclaimed two-thirds of the Texaco-Gulf concession and decided to levy higher royalties and taxes.  Politicians wanted the foreign companies to spend more money building infrastructure, i.e. roads and airports.  Ecuador came to the realization that they had a valued commodity and could negotiate with the foreign investors for development.
Environmental pollution begun with the first well drilled in the Oriente; significantly, the first well also accelerated a process of cultural genocide among the rainforest peoples of Ecuador. Texaco’s sights were set on making money, not being responsible for the lands or the people who lived on the land.  Unfortunately, the discovery of oil created continuing hardships for the people who inhabit the rainforest.

There are two goals generally adopted by a host country with an export industry controlled by foreigners:  “assertion of national sovereignty over the country’s own resources and economic life” and “achievement of conditions whereby the industry in question will render maximal contributions to national development and economic well-being.”   Some Latin American countries that became involved in the oil business were interested in making fast money; they were not interested in learning the business of petroleum extraction.  Ignorance in the production of petroleum enabled many multinational corporations to take advantage and exploit the host countries.  Ecuador fell into this category and learned, first hand, that a multinational corporation will take advantage of the host country.  The Ecuadorian government realized that it would have to learn the petroleum business.
Prior to the discovery of large amounts of petroleum, President José María Velasco Ibarra had very few oil policies.  President Velasco Ibarra had been elected in 1968 for the fifth time.   Realizing in 1969 that the Texaco-Gulf contract was about to expire, he brought together a group of petroleum experts to help with the re-negotiations.  The Secretary of the Presidency directed the proceedings dealing with re-negotiation.  The Secretary, though, disregarded the opinions of the appointed experts during the re-negotiations.

The final terms that were agreed upon were tougher than those previously established.  Texaco-Gulf would have to return 930,000 hectares, while keeping their preferred 500,000 hectares.  An increase in the royalty percentage carried it to 11.5%.  There was a clause that dealt with the employees of Texaco-Gulf.  Texaco-Gulf would have to employ 80% Ecuadorians in its administrative personnel and 95% of the workers had to be Ecuadorians.  Not only did these employment requirements have to be met, but also half of the consortium technicians had to be Ecuadorian.  In addition to these conditions, the new agreement required Texaco-Gulf to build a pipeline from the oil fields into the Oriente to a pacific port.
President Velasco Ibarro recognized that a lot of money could be made making deals with petroleum companies and the government began to allocate new blocks of land for potential oil development.  Blocks were allocated to Amoco, Cayman, and OKC.  Foreign petroleum companies now held most of the Oriente lands.  The indigenous peoples had been sold out for speculative money from oil exploration.  More companies meant more roads, more pollution, and more contact with outsiders.  The Velasco Ibarra government was clearly looking to make a quick profit without regard to Ecuador’s population that resided in the Oriente.

The Velasco Ibarra government announced plans to build a refinery for its heavy crude oil.  It was decided that they were going to use a process known as “cracking” to refine the oil.  Universal Oil Products (UOP) designed a refinery with a catalytic cracking unit.  Ecuador invited four companies in June 1971, UOP, Lummus, Kellogg, and Flour, to bid on the construction contract, but Flour was the only company to submit a bid.  Shortly, Alfonso Robelly, Minister of Natural Resources, and Flour disagreed over rising costs due to technical defects in the design.  Robelly denounced all intervention by foreign companies.
Almost immediately, the Ecuadorian military presented a fifteen-point objection to the refinery’s construction.  Nevertheless, in October 1971 the government authorized the construction of a refinery; and on February 11, 1972, a Japanese firm announced its plans for the refinery.  The military overthrew the Ibarra Velasco government a few days later and General Guillermo Rodríguez Lara took over the presidency.  The military government soon recognized that with the financial backing of the oil industry that the military could expand.  Furthermore, oil wealth could aid in the modernization of Ecuadorian society, while at the same time transforming the economy.  An oil “boom” in Ecuador began shortly after Rodríguez Lara’s rise to power.
The Velasco Ibarra government had, in September 1971, introduced the first oil law since 1937.  However, the law was not activated until June 23, 1972, due to legal terms that were deemed unsatisfactory.  The new oil law created Corporación Estatal Petrolera Ecuatoriana (CEPE).  Substantial petroleum exports began in June 1972, when the newly completed Trans-Andean pipeline became operational.  The initial capacity of the pipeline was 250,000 barrels of oil a day, and plans to expand its capacity to 400,000 barrels a day augured well for the future.

Naval Captain Gustavo Jarrín Ampudia became the Minister of Natural Resources, even though he had no former background in the petroleum industry.  Still, Jarrín Ampudia brought together a group of Ecuadorians and foreigners who had experience in the oil industry, hoping to nationalize the industry in Ecuador.   The advisory team, established on March 27, 1972, was called the Comisión Asesora del Despacho Ministerial en Asuntos Relacionados con Política Petrolera.  The Ministry established its goals for the future of the oil industry (See Appendix), giving the oil industry in Ecuador some direction.
The government issued Decree 430 on June 12, 1972, legalizing renegotiations for oil concessions prior to 1971.  Essentially, Jarrín Ampudia wanted to export less Ecuadorian oil.  He felt that if Ecuador exported less oil that prices would be driven up.  However, other people in the government felt that Jarrín Ampudia was too hard on the Texaco-Gulf consortium. The government realized that Jarrín Ampudia was not helping Ecuador to realize its petroleum potential.  The government issued an ultimatum: either Jarrín Ampudia had to achieve an agreement or resign.

Rodríguez Lara formally announced on December 29, 1972, the Plan integral de transformación y desarrollo.  There were three main objectives that were outlined in this five-year plan.  They were “the achievement of national integration, an improvement in living conditions, and strengthening economic output through greater rationality in the use of natural resources.”   The Rodríguez Lara regime sought to maximize the potential of the petroleum industry in Ecuador.  He wanted to help out the people of Ecuador by producing oil; and his advisors were looking to nationalize the industry to make the industry more profitable.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, in 1973 organized an oil embargo.  Oil production decreased causing global oil prices to rise dramatically.  OPEC’s decision to decrease oil production created an oil shortage.   Ecuadorian officials realized that the oil shortage would benefit their oil industry.  OPEC had embraced the ideas that Jarrín Ampudia had about oil production.  And he realized that OPEC could be an important ally and thus began working towards gaining membership in OPEC.

OPEC offered Ecuador official membership in November 1973. Ecuador quickly accepted and Jarrín Ampudia took further steps to strengthen Ecuador’s position in OPEC. He ordered production to be decreased from 250,000 b/d to 210,000 b/d on May 22, 1974.  In addition to this measure, he raised taxes from 16% to 16.67%.  The foreign oil companies became infuriated and immediately launched a counteroffensive.

Jarrín Ampudia’s actions towards the foreign companies led to his dismissal on May 22, 1974; and President Rodríguez Lara began to try and make amends with the companies.  He met with representatives from the consortium to discuss the current oil policies.  The representatives threatened to pull the companies out of Ecuador unless the government met three demands:  “The tax reference price was to be cut from $13.70-10.25, domestic selling price was to be raised, and the companies were to be paid $59.2 million.”   The consortium felt its members should be paid $59.2 million as a result of the local purchases by CEPE.

Rodríguez Lara and his government were in a bit of a predicament.  The Government had no choice but to give into the foreign companies.  In June 1975 Ecuador made concessions to the foreign companies, cutting the tax on a barrel of oil
from $10.84 to $10.41.  Oil production increased and Ecuador’s oil industry was headed in a direction that Jarrín Ampudia had wanted to avoid.  Still, stability in the government was secured for the time being due to the concession.

Texaco-Gulf operated in the Oriente, a forested expanse of thirteen million hectares (32 million acres).  The Amazon River and Ecuador’s tropical rainforest are included in the Oriente.  Many wild and exotic species inhabit the region, as do the rainforest peoples of Ecuador.  95,000 indigenous peoples call the Oriente their home.   The majority of the indigenous rainforest peoples are Quichua and Shuar tribes.  Achuar, Cofán, Huaorani, Shiwiar, Secoya, and Siona are other rainforest people in Ecuador.  The government of Ecuador viewed the Oriente as a frontier region that needed to be conquered, similar to the view that Americans held about the West during the latter decades of the nineteenth century.  The lands of the indigenous peoples was viewed by the government as unoccupied. It wanted the land to help ease the social strife of the country.  When prospecting for oil began, the government decided it could kill two birds with one stone: make money and colonize the Oriente.  Reasoning like this would forever impact the people of the rainforest.  This delicate ecosystem would be forever changed when a large petroleum deposit was found in the area.

Petroleum companies active in exploration in the Oriente dumped pollutants into the environment. Wells had to be drilled in order to tap underground reserves.  Prior to drilling, the companies needed to clear two to five hectares of land to build a drilling platform.  10,000 feet was the average depth of an exploratory well.  The contents of liquid and gas drawn up would be tested to see if placing a well would be profitable.  Petroleum companies wanted to maximize profit, so the process of exploratory drilling went on with little or no regard for the inhabitants of the area.

Companies would excavate an area of land for the purpose of using the hole as a waste pit.  Drainage patterns were not taken into account when creating waste pits.  Heavy rains flooded the pits, casting out the petroleum byproduct.   The run-off contaminated the local streams and rivers that provided a habitat for aqueous creatures.  Oxygen levels in the water supplies were depleted due to the toxins, creating an inhabitable place for marine life.  That pollution directly affected the peoples of the forest.

Since the pits were unlined, erosion had the potential of collapsing pit walls, creating an additional environmental hazard.  On average, the oil companies created 42,000 gallons of wastes with every exploratory well drilled.   Much of the wastes are burned off, creating air pollution.  Many people, including Texaco employees, began to complain about respiratory problems caused by that air pollution.  Waste not burned off contaminated surface water when it seeped into underground streams used by local inhabitants for drinking water.   Polluted drinking water introduced new illnesses.

 The indigenous peoples of Ecuador began to feel the presence of outsiders after a large petroleum reservoir was found in Napo province.  Since 1964, Ecuadorian officials had been trying to reduce the difference between the upper class landowners and landless peasants.  The government passed an Agrarian Reform and Colonization Law.  It allowed poor farmers to go into the eastern Oriente and cultivate crops, which had been legally declared public land.  Immediately following Texaco’s discovery, roads began to be built, which allowed settlers to travel deeper into the rainforest.  Settlers began to migrate into the world of the rainforest people.

Settlers began to appear in the Oriente in 1964.  Many arrived near the town of Macas, threatening the lowland rainforest people living in it.  The forest peoples of the lowlands had lived a life of hunting and gathering for centuries.  Settlers had the potential of destroying their existence.  The Shuar Indians living adjacent to Macas realized that colonization would not end there.  To protect their lands, they formed the Shuar Federation.  Their goal was to obtain legal title to their lands.  The Shuar Federation slowed down the momentum of the colonization for a period, but only for a short while.  Shuar Indians realized that they had to do something in order to maintain their way of life.

By the late 1960s the Ecuadorian government encouraged the settlement of the Oriente by military conscripts.  The conscripts could help to protect new settlements and help to colonized them.  However, conscripts were not the only settlers to migrate into the Oriente.  The petroleum industry created many jobs for Ecuadorians; there was a new demand for unskilled laborers.  Petroleum companies introduced approximately 10,000 people into the region.  The inflow of settlers into the region not only brought devastation to the land, but also to the rainforest people.

New roads into the Oriente not only brought colonists and conscripts to the region, but also missionaries.  Their plan was to convert the heathen savages who inhabited the virgin rainforests into God-fearing Christians.  Although roads helped in the missionary process, Christian missionaries had begun their task in the 1950s.  The first peaceful contacts with the Huaorani occurred in 1958.  Huaorani traditions were built on a semi-nomadic lifestyle; they would hunt and forage for food.  Spears and blowguns were the weapons of choice to the Huaorani when hunting, until the missionaries arrived.  Now, many Huaorani favor guns and harpoons.   Furthermore, the Huaorani have begun to cultivate crops that they once gathered.  Roads built by Texaco have led to the changing of the Huaorani history and traditions by allowing non-rainforest peoples greater access to the Huaorani’s traditional lands.

There are few Huaorani who have made no contact with the outside world.  The Tagaeri clan is one of the few clans left that have had minimal contact.   They are noted for attacking intruders who trespass on their land.  The Tagaeri are determined not to lose their traditions and ways of life.  Deep in the forest is where they make their homes, hoping that the oil industry will not reach that far.  They realize the consequences they face if they do not fight: they will lose their identity and assimilate into Ecuadorian society, as many of the Huaorani already have.  Surrender is not an option.

During the 1970s a stream of settlers moved into the Napo province region.  Lowland indigenous communities responded by forming the Federation of Indigenous Organizations (FOIN) in 1975.  Organization of the Indigenous Nations of Pastaza (OPIP) was formed in the Pastaza province in 1979.  Indigenous groups decided they should ban together in order to make themselves stronger.  FOIN, OPIP, and the Shuar Federation in 1980 formed the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONENIAE).  The lowland Indians now had a united voice.

CONENIAE believed that it would be better if all the separate federations of indigenous peoples in Ecuador were united under one indigenous peoples’ organization.  Highland and lowland Indians banded together to form the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE).  CONAIE would be the representative for all indigenous peoples of Ecuador.   Traditional lands needed to be protected from greedy politicians and oilmen.  They knew they could not act as separate entities; they believed there would be strength in numbers.

CONAIE wanted to change the system in which their children were educated.  The indigenous movement wanted bilingual education to replace Spanish language education.  CONAIE was successful in signing an agreement with the Ministry of Education and Culture. So far, this plan had worked with the Quichua language.  In the future, CONAIE would like to see other indigenous languages integrated into the curriculum for the youth of other language groups.

Indigenous peoples from all over Ecuador have banded together in order to gain control of their lands.  These lands have been a part of their history for centuries.  Many groups have been relocated due to oil exploration.  Oil and the Ecuadorian government have threatened the traditions that have played a major part in the lives of indigenous peoples.
The Siena, Secoya, Cofán, Quichua, and Huaorani have been devastated since Texaco entered the Oriente.  Displacement from their traditional lands, often by missionaries, had become a common occurrence.  Displacement gave Texaco easier access to the subsoil wealth.  Populations have declined dramatically among indigenous groups since the creation of a petroleum industry in Ecuador.  The Cofán experienced the depletion of their community first hand.  Texaco built a refinery in what was a Cofán village.  The total number of Cofán in Ecuador was around 3,000 before Texaco’s arrival.  Since that time, their population has dropped to approximately 300.  Measles, influenza, and tuberculosis have swept through whole clans.  The Tetete people had once inhabited the area of Lago Agrio.  This area was also the site of Texaco’s first well in Ecuador.  You will no longer find any Tetete. They are forever extinct, a causality of the oil industry.

Allies and supporters of the various indigenous groups decided to start a boycott against Texaco in order to show that the indigenous community would not stand by and let Texaco poison the communities.  Campana Amazonia por la Vida led the campaign against the Texaco Corporation.  Although the boycott received international recognition and support, it was not enough to deter Texaco and the Ecuadorian government from using environmentally unsafe methods for oil production.

Texaco pulled out of Ecuador in June 1992, leaving poorly maintained production facilities and environmental damage.  Petroecuador continued to extract oil using Texaco’s facilities.  By 1992, a growing concern of the effects that Texaco’s operation has had on Ecuador and its peoples led to an environmental audit.  Petroecuador hired a Canadian consulting firm, HBT Agra Limited, to conduct the audit.  HBT Agra Limited was to look at the direct and indirect impacts of Texaco’s operations.  HBT Agra Limited was not only chosen by Petroecuador, but also Texaco.  Texaco also agreed to be bound by the results of the audit.

The indigenous groups in Ecuador openly welcomed the audit.  They hoped that the audit would hold Texaco responsible for its actions, while at the same time lead to the clean up Ecuador’s environment and oil production facilities.  However, the indigenous groups would soon become dismayed because the audit took place behind closed doors.  No government policies were changed concerning indigenous lands.  Furthermore, the auditors did not consult any Amazonian residents.

Nevertheless, the HBT Agra audit confirmed that Texaco had caused environmental damage in Ecuador; 41% of Texaco’s well sites had “high environmental liability.”  In addition, the results showed that 60% of Texaco’s waste pits had not been able to contain oil wastes.  Furthermore, HBT Agra audit stated, “Texaco’s operations prior to 1990 were potentially not in compliance with Ecuadorian law.”   Although Texaco had agreed to the environmental audit, Texaco officials considered the results unfair.  The audit recommended that Texaco pay $13 million to Ecuador in order to pay for back taxes, equipment deterioration, and ecological damage.  Texaco refused to take responsibility for its actions in Ecuador.

Two American authors have brought the consequences of petroleum exploration in the Amazon basin worldwide attention.  Judith Kimerling and Joe Kane have spent many years traveling through the Amazon living, talking with, and befriending the rainforest people.  Kimerling’s book, Amazon Crude, discusses the effects of petroleum exploration in a report format.  Kimerling traveled to the Texaco sites and witnessed the pollution first hand.  There are a lot of facts ranging from the construction of a well site to the effects the site has on the environment.  Kane’s book, Savages, is written as a diary style report.  It tells the story of how he traveled through the Ecuadorian rainforests with the Huaorani.  Savages is a more personal look at the effects of pollution on the people of Ecuador, whereas Amazon Crude is more of a chronological history of environmental damage in Ecuador.  Both books brought the story of the indigenous plight in Ecuador to people throughout the world.  The rainforests people’s story was being told and discussed.

Kimerling and other allies of the rainforest peoples further publicized the fate of the rainforest when Ecuadorian plaintiffs filed two separate lawsuits in 1993 against Texaco in United States’ courts.  Sequihua v. Texaco Inc. brought allegations against Texaco that ranged from water and soil pollution to air pollution.  Texaco worked quickly to get the case dismissed.  District Judge Norman Black granted Texaco a dismissal in January 1994.  Judge Black’s findings led him to the conclusion that “. . . an adequate forum is available in Ecuador. . . and defendants are alleged to have conducted business in that country.”
A class action suit, Aquinda v. Texaco, was brought against Texaco in November 1993.  A lawyer from a powerful Ecuadorian family, Cristobal Bonifaz, teamed up with Kohn, Nast, and Graf, a Philadelphia law firm to file a suit in New York Federal District Court.  The lawyers are seeking an amount of $1.5 billion for the indigenous peoples in order to pay for environmental clean up.  Judith Kimerling has also joined the lawsuit by representing the Quichua and Cofán peoples.
 Lawyers wanted the class-action suit to be heard in New York because Texaco’s headquarters are located in White Plains.  The plaintiffs have contested that all decisions made about petroleum exploration and extraction in Ecuador took place at Texaco’s headquarters.  Judge Vincent Broderick decided to rule on Texaco’s motion to dismiss on grounds of forum non conveniens after he ordered limited discovery,  but Judge Broderick died on March 3, 1995.   Shortly after his death, the case was reassigned to Judge Jed Rakoff.  Texaco renewed its plea for a dismissal and Judge Rakoff acknowledged the fact that the Ecuadorian Congress had objections to the lawsuit being heard in the United States.  Judge Rakoff, using Judge Black’s grant of dismissal, granted Texaco’s movement for a dismissal in November 1996.

The plaintiffs appealed Judge Rakoff’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit where Judge Jon Newman recommended that the lower court consider the case.    He disagreed with Judge Rakoff’s dismissal based on forum non conveniens.  Judge Newman believed it was wrong to dismiss the case without any commitment by Texaco to recognize the jurisdiction of Ecuadorian courts.

Delfin Payaguajo is a member of the Secoya tribe who is taking part in the class-action suit against Texaco.   Payaguajo contends that Texaco’s lack of stewardship caused his family’s health to be sacrificed for petroleum.  He has complained that the Aguarico, the local river, is no longer useful for the Secoya tribe due to pollution.  Secoyas can no longer fish in the river and villagers must now drink and bathe using rainwater.  Delfin Payaguajo and his people’s traditions are another causality of the petroleum industry.

Texaco denies all accounts of environmental negligence even though there is a lot of evidence of environmental damage caused by its actions.  Dr. Luis Macas, president of CONAIE, has openly stated that Texaco has caused one of the greatest disasters ever to occur in the Ecuadorian Amazon.   However, Texaco still denies any wrong doings in the Oriente.  Texaco has stated on several occasions that it acted within Ecuadorian law and acted in a manner in that was environmentally safe.
 Texaco contends that the class-action suit should not be heard in the United
States, rather it should be heard in Ecuador.  Chris Gidez, a spokesman for Texaco, gave reasons why Texaco felt that the case should be heard in Ecuador.  The plaintiffs are in Ecuador, the operations occurred in Ecuador, the state Oil Company, which is a major partner in the consortium, is in Ecuador, and the evidence is in Ecuador.

Texaco believes that the only reason Aguinda v. Texaco was successfully appealed was simply due to a procedural error.  Texaco contends that since the oil production occurs in Ecuador, the trial should take place there.  Furthermore, it is Texaco’s contention that it is wrong for United States courts to rule on the activities of sovereign nations, in this instance Ecuador, a party to oil production as “owner” of Petroecuador, the national oil company.  Texaco is very confident that it will receive a judgement in its favor in the federal district court.

 Although Texaco is no longer operating in the Oriente, other petroleum companies have taken its place.  Occidental Petroleum (OXY) has moved into the Ecuadorian rainforest, bringing with it a poor environmental track record.   Occidental is also failing in its environmental stewardship.  Limoncocha Lake in July 1991 was contaminated by a local oil well.  Occidental “cleaned up” the contamination by discarding the waste into the Jivino River, which happens to be the local community’s bathing and drinking water.

To alleviate some of the pollution caused by Occidental, children were hired from the Limoncocha community to help clean up.  The children were to collect contaminated wastes and plastic tanks.  Occidental gave no protective gear to the children; they had to use their bare hands to pick up the toxic waste, proving Occidental does not care for the environment or the peoples in areas of petroleum exploration.

When Occidental Petroleum began operating in Block 15, home to Tagaeris, Sionas, and Secoyas, some feared the Tagaeri would become extinct.  Unlike other Huaoranis, Tagaeris lived completely off the land and exploration would impinge on their livelihood.   The future of these rainforest people depended on the actions taken by Occidental Petroleum and the Ecuadorian government.

Occidental Petroleum began to negotiate for the use of lands co-owned by the Secoya and Siona people.  The Secoya people resisted Occidental’s presence in the area.  Occidental responded by sending a legal representative, Manuel Echevarria, to threaten the rainforest people into submission.  Echevarria told the Secoyas that Occidental would have the Ecuadorian government expropriate their lands if they did not cooperate.  The Secoya leaders, fearing losing their homelands, signed a contract.

Occidental promised the rainforest people employment; however, the employment opportunities offered  were only menial labor.  They included machete work and carrying things for the company.  The Secoyas soon became outraged and on March 25, 1995, voted 87-3 to annul the contract with Occidental.   Demonstrations began to be held outside of Occidental headquarters in Quito, Ecuador.  The rainforests people were rising up and fighting for their way of life.

Occidental Petroleum broke Ecuadorian and international law by using coercion to get the rainforest people to sign away their lands.  Although Occidental’s operating policies states that they will “protect the environment, health, and safety. . . of the communities in which we operate,” they have not followed them.   Occidental’s concessions in Ecuador are estimated by the American Petroleum Institute to only have the potential to yield enough oil to satisfy the needs of the United States for thirteen days.  All of this destruction was for less than a two-week supply of petroleum!

National Parks that are legally protected from oil exploration under Ecuadorian law were under attack from the petroleum industry.  Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini oil field is located within the boundaries of the Yasuni National Park.  Yasuni National Park is approximately 900,000 hectares, located close to the border of Peru and Colombia.  The park is known throughout the world for its biodiversity.  Although Yasuni National Park is protected under Ecuadorian law, Perez Compac of Argentina and Elf of France have already begun to drill for oil within its boundaries.

The Cuyabeno-Imuya National Park is also under attack from oil exploration and colonization.  Cuyabeno-Imuya is located close to the Yasuni National Park.  Shannon Wright is an activist who is trying to save the parks from oil exploration.  The current president of Ecuador, Jamil Mahuad, issued a decree on February 1, 1999 that blocked planned and future oil exploration in the national parks.  Wright commented on President Mahuad’s decree by stating:

By protecting the rainforests of the Cuyabeno-Imuya and Yasuni national parks, Ecuador is investing in its long-term economic and social wellbeing.  Rather sacrificed for the short-term profit of a few multinational oil companies, these rich ecosystems will continue to provide for Ecuador as a whole and the local indigenous peoples in perpetuity.  This important move will need to be followed by the protection of all threatened Amazonian lands and the increased investments in the country’s many renewable energy options. Although President Mahuad only issued a decree that could later be forgotten, it is a step in the right direction.

The fate of the rainforest people depends on whether oil exploration will be allowed on indigenous lands.  Rainforest peoples are trying to work with the national infrastructional systems in order to gain rights to their subsoil minerals.  Although much of their traditional lands have been polluted, surviving rainforest peoples keep their traditions alive.  Will forest people have to compromise?  Must they partially assimilate into Ecuadorian society?  Clearly, some compromise will be necessary if the rainforest people are to have a future. And just as clearly, as with oil, once the rainforest people are gone, they will be forever gone.  Do we have a responsibility to act, to save rainforest people from certain extinction, to become good stewards of the earth’s resources?

Ecuador’s hope for a lucrative oil industry that would benefit the whole country vanished a long time ago.  Prior to the “oil boom”, Ecuador’s national debt was $200 million.  After more than twenty years, the debt has risen to an astounding $12 billion.   The more oil they produce, the more they have to borrow in order to pay for the production.  It is estimated that if Ecuador keeps up with their current rate of production, their reserves will be depleted within the next fifteen years.
Creation of an oil industry in Ecuador has had lasting consequences.  Not only has the rainforest and its people been adversely affected, but also the national economy.  Ecuador is now trying to survive, economically, one day at a time.  Other Latin American countries are facing the same fate as Ecuador.  When all of the oil has been depleted, will these countries still believe that it was worth more than their indigenous populations?  There is still a chance for the rainforest and its people, for the last chapter of this saga has yet to be written.  Action must be taken now in order to save the rainforest and its people from certain extinction.