ECOLOGICAL ALERT FROM THE HIGH AMAZON:
A NEW OIL SPILL
CORDAVI, an Ecuadorian organization practicing public interest
environmental law, reports to the world environmental community the
following news of the oil spill that occurred in Ecuador in July
1992.
The actual oil spill originated in the Sacha oil field,
located 50 km to the south of the town of Lago Agrio, in the
Sucumbios Province. This is part of the traditional territory of
the Siona Secoya and Cofan native peoples. It is also the home of
various communities of the indigenous Quichua peolple.
This oil field was operated until last year by the U.S.
corporation TEXACO; due to negotiations with the Ecuadorian
government, it is now operated by Petroecuador, an Ecuadorian state
agency. Petroecuador is folowing the legacy of Texaco, the
petroleum giant in this Ecuador for the past 20 years. The
responsibility for this spill lies with Texaco, whose extraction
techniques only promote economic benefit to the company and
disregard environmental repercussions.
The consequences of this huge spill will be felt most acutely
by the indigenous communities who have lost their usual sources of
water and will now have only contaminated water.
This spill is only one of many such spills that have occurred
during the past two decades of oil exploitation in Ecuador, and the
spills will continue as long as Ecuador is forced to sell its oil
to pay back an impossible external debt.
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C O R D A V I
P.O.Box 17-12-309 * Quito-ECUADOR
e-mail: root@codavi.ec