The Ecuadorian Indigenous community, the Waorani, nestled inside the Yasuni National Park in the Amazonian jungle, will allow international oil companies to drill into their land in exchange for government and international funding for education, healthcare, and recognition of ancestral lands.
President Rafael Correa signed the agreement with 500 members of the Waorani community who were representing the 48 tribes that form the indigenous group.
The decision settled long running protests implicating the government in conspiracies with international companies in violation of the constitution and Ecuadorian citizens. Local and international organizations also stress that the decision will devastate one of Ecuador’s most biodiverse areas. In response, Mr Correa explained that the country is in desperate need for the difficult investment and stringent environmental regulations will underlie the drilling.
According to the agreement, international donors would contribute $3.6 billion to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for education, health care, and other social programs in exchange for drilling in the park. The oil extraction is expected to generate over $7 billion in revenue over a ten year period.
Biodiversity Commission of the Ecuadorian National Assembly approved a report announcing Yasuni a national interest. It will be voted on by Congress this September.
Leaders from the Waorani community spoke with the President prior to the decision and agreed on the necessity of the investment. Jofre Poma, mayor of Lago Agrio, said “we want development, we want progress. We need healthcare, quality of life, schools, roads, drinking water.”
Anita Rivas, mayor of The Coca, requested that educational facilities be built from the oil revenue and said, “We lack basic services. More than 70 thousand people have no water. Hopefully, now that the President is looking at the Amazon, these works are built for the community.”
According to UNICEF’s 2011 annual report and Ecuador’s Observatory for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (ODNA), 33% of indigenous youth ages 15-17 drop out of schools, compared to 24% of the national average. In 2009, indigenous children between the ages 5 and 17 were reported three times more likely to be involved in the labor market than Ecuadorian children of mixed descent. The report stresses that additional efforts need to be made by training bilingual teachers and implementing education models based in indigenous cultures.
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Written by Rachel Pozivenec