Towards the end of September a community leader from a Shuar village in the province of Morona Santiago came into our offices in Quito looking for help with a problem faced by his community. This story is typical of the sorts of events that are taking place all over Ecuador. It highlights the disadvantages faced by indigenous peoples as they struggle to come to terms with the forces of globalization and the new economic system that it imposes upon them, and demonstrates the impunity with which outside forces can destroy their environment and threaten their culture.
A stranger appeared in their village one day offering to sell them a second-hand generator for $2000 to provide light for their village. The community was keen to purchase the generator, but only had $800 in cash to offer. The stranger said that would do, and that he would take the rest in trees that he and his crew would fell and extract.
Over the next months the man moved in with an expanding crew of loggers and began extracting the biggest and the best specimens from the forests to which the community holds legal title. The villagers have become increasingly distressed to see their forests being destroyed but are powerless to stop the illegal loggers from felling and extracting their trees. The police have shown little serious interest in helping the indigenous population probably receiving regular bribes from the loggers to look the other way.
Now the villagers are asking themselves how they will live once all the trees are gone, and came to us For help in trying to do something before the worst happens.
Ecuador is losing its forests at the rate of nearly 400 hectares per day (550 soccer pitches every day), through illegal logging that is carelessly done and benefits a relatively few dishonest people. Aside from the human catastrophes that result, like the story above, the environmental and ecological impacts are equally grave. These forests are home to many unique species of flaura and fauna. Once they have been cut down these species lose their ecological niches and die out.
To find out more about what Ecotrackers is doing to end illegal logging in Ecuador, and to learn about the various ways that you can help, please click on our home page =>[http://www.ecotrackers.com]
Martijn van Vreeden is currently living and working in Ecuador with Moving Ecuador. He has been working to preserve the biological and cultural diversity of Ecuador. To learn more about his work, please visit the Moving Ecuador website at: http://www.movingecuador.com
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