In terms of biodiversity, Ecuador ranks among the richest countries worldwide. About 26 percent of its territory is declared a protected area. The management of these areas often results in a conflict of interest between conservation and the economic needs of the local population – whose livelihoods often directly depend on the availability of the natural resources. Restrictions in access to their land are therefore likely to result in frustration and stern disapproval. This may even be the case if they principally agree on the need to protect the resources. The designation of the Nangaritza Protected Forest in Southern Ecuador is an example of how initial skepticism within local communities escalated to violence and hostage-taking of protected area management staff. In a recent journal published by the German Development Service (DED), an affected employee critiques the reasons for this escalation: Lacking cultural and social understanding vis-ŕ-vis local farmers, as well as insufficient information and failure to foster meaningful participation in all phases of the planning process. Protected area management needs to be based on close and equal cooperation with local stakeholders. In the case of the Nagaritza conflict, mediation by a local NGO and their facilitation of dialogue could finally establish a trusting relationship.



Another protected area in northern Ecuador has become the focus of much economic interest: Yasuní National Park holds large reservoirs of crude oil under its diverse rain forests. On 3 August, after tedious negotiations, representatives of Ecuador and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement on the future of the Park. Ecuador agreed to leave the oil reserves untapped, thereby preserving Yasuní’s rich biodiversity and avoiding further CO2 emissions. In return, Ecuador will be compensated with at least half of the foregone oil revenues, estimated at $6 billion. (Christiane Roettger)



The DED’s publication (in German) "Die Transformation von Umwelt- und Ressourcenkonflikten" can be accessed here.



More information on the agreement concerning Yasuní National Park is available here and in an earlier ECC article from February 2010.

Published in: ECC-Newsletter, August 2010