Ecuador : Indicators

The Constitution of Ecuador 2008 and the Unified Text of Secondary Environmental Legislation (TULAS) 2003 guarantee the participation of indigenous peoples and communities in decision-making on activities to be carried out in their territories. The codified forest law and the environmental management law state that indigenous, black and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples will have priority in the use of community lands and forest products, and that the local authorities must consult with these peoples before issuing environmental policies and policies for demarcation, management and administration of conservation areas and ecological reserves. The mechanisms for applying these rights are not clear. One case in 2012 for example was that there was still no consensus over oil operations in the centre-south area of the Ecuadorian Amazon Region between the State and the indigenous peoples, who argue that their rights have not been respected.