Ecuador/Brazil: The Brazilian Oil Company Petrobras threatens the right to food of the Huaorani community in Yasuni National Park, Ecuador

The oil company Petrobras was recently granted an environmental license by the Ministry of the Environment, which allowed the company to build the required infrastructure for oil prospecting activities in block 31 –heart of Yasuni National Park and home of the Huaorani indigenous peoples. In the light of this situation, Ecuadorean social organizations have brought an action before Ecuador’s Constitutional Court looking for legal protection and the annulment of Petrobras’ environmental license. The construction of infrastructure for oil extraction at the heart of Yasuni National Park will lead to the destruction of the ancestral food resources of part of the Huaorani people.  

The intervention of FIAN members during the next weeks will be crucial in order to support the groups who have called for legal protection. Please, send the attached letter as soon as possible to the Constitutional Court, requesting them to decide in favor of the legal protection. Please, send also a copy to Luiz Ignacio da Silva, the Brazilian President, and to the NGO Oilwatch.