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Ecuador gives Indigenous people – and nature – a big win

The Constitutional Court has ruled that Indigenous peoples have the right to decide over oil and mining projects in the Ecuadorian Amazon

By Juanita Rico
Ecuador gives Indigenous people – and nature – a big win
Members of the A’i Cofán community have welcomed the verdict
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The recent decision by Ecuador’s highest court in favour of Indigenous people’s rights was a huge victory, not just for them but for nature too.

The ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court, in favour of Indigenous people’s rights and their authority to decide on extractive projects that affect their land, upheld a landmark lower court ruling in 2018.

The ruling was one of three handed down in January in favour of Indigenous communities. One (No. 273-19-JP) protects the A’i Cofán community from any extractive project on their land. Another (No. 28-19-IN) says that Indigeneous peoples’ consent will now be required for oil and mining projects throughout the Ecuadorian Amazon.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0