The Government of Ecuador has announced plans to allow oil drilling projects in the Amazon that are being fiercely opposed by local indigenous people, according to a report released by Amazon Watch.
The oil drilling areas, known as oil blocks, overlap with the territories of the Sápara indigenous people.
The Sápara is a small threatened group of about 300 people. They have been recognised by UNESCO as an "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".
The report states: "The blocks are in the center of Ecuador's pristine, roadless southeastern Amazon, where indigenous groups have been successfully kept oil companies out of their territories for over two decades."
"Amazonian communities are well aware of the devastating social and environmental impacts of oil extraction. Their indigenous neighbors to the north bore the brunt of Chevron's drill and dump tactics for three decades in what is considered one of the worst oil-related disasters on the planet, and are still waiting for justice."
The Amazon rainforest and the indigenous people that live there must be protected. Will you join me in urging the Government of Ecuador to protect the Sápara and the surrounding Amazon rainforest from oil interests?
Please sign and share the petition.
