Ecuador's citizens voted to stop oil drilling in heart of Amazon. A year later, it hasn't happened

By Associated Pres
Published: 09:46 EDT, 28 August 2024 | Updated: 09:47 EDT, 28 August 2024

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - It's been a year since the people of Ecuador voted to halt oil drilling in a national park in the heart of the country's share of the Amazon, and nothing has been done to start shutting down operations. For supporters of the shutdown, that's not even the worst part: the government is now seeking a five-year extension for the state-run oil company to get out.

The Waorani people, an Indigenous group whose territory overlaps Yasuni National Park, and others are frustrated by the lack of compliance with the referendum.

"We should already have advanced results, with the closures almost 100% complete, but the government has not committed to that," said Juan Bay, president of the main Waorani organization in Ecuador, known as NAWE. "There has been no political will to guarantee the rights of the Ecuadorian people that the ballot boxes decided."

Yasuni National Park is one of most biodiverse regions on the planet. Besides the Waorani, it's home to two of the world´s last Indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation, the Taromenane and the Tagaeri people, according to nonprofit Amazon Frontlines.

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-13788401/Ecuadors-citizens-voted-stop-oil-drilling-heart-Amazon-A-year-later-happened.html