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October 13 2003
| Intag | By Carlos Zorrilla
DECOIN is asking
your support in helping save one of the world's great biological
jewels and set a legal precedent that would help communities
and local government permanently protect their natural resources
and communities from the blight that is industrial mining.
Please write or fax a letter voicing your concern about this
issue. (Click here for a sample
letter in Spanish)
LEGAL SHOWDOWN
OVER MINING and COMMUNITY RIGHTS IN ECUADOR:
The case of Junin and Cotacachi County vs the Government and
Mining Interests
The Constitutional Tribunal of Ecuador, the highest court
of the land dealing with constitutional issues, is about to
make a decision that will either set a precedent in favor
of community rights and the conservation of the environment,
or "bend" the constitution to favor the ruling elites,
transnational mining interests and extractive industries.
In May of this year, the Municipality of Cotacachi government,
in representation of all township governments of the Intag
area of Imbabura Province and affected communities, presented
a Constitutional Injunction to annul the Golden 1 and Golden
2 mining concessions totaling 7,000 hectares, in the exceptionally
biodiverse Toisan Range. The concession was auctioned under
suspicious circumstances to a single individual in August
of 2002. The auction was publicly opposed by all 8 township
governments in Cotacachi County, local communities, all organizations
working in the area, the entire County Council, and the Mayor,
Auki Titua??a Kichwa Indian.
The lower court ruled in favor of the County and communities
at the provincial level. The defendants, a very wealthy Ecuadorian
and the Ministry of Energy and Mines are now appealing that
decision. The injunction states that the sale of the mining
concessions, and the consequences said sale will
produce, violate fundamental constitutional rights, including
prior consultation with communities, and the right to live
in a contamination-free, ecologically balanced environment.
It also states the sale interfered with the constitutional
rights of local governments to apply local laws and carry
out their own development policies. Specifically, in the case
of Cotacachi County, mining activities of any kind violate
the Countys Ecological Ordinance, which prohibits economic
activities that are harmful to people and the environment,
while promoting sustainable activities and local development.
The area in question is on the western slopes of the Western
Andes and within two of the Earths 25 Biological Hotspots;
the Tropical Andes and the Choco-Darien- Western Ecuadorian
Hotspot. The area is populated by small farmers, but still
is very rich in primary cloud forests, protecting dozens of
pristine watersheds. The forests are also the home to many
endangered species of mammals and birds. This is the same
area where in the early 1990s Mitsubishi found a massive copper-molybdenum
deposit, and where communities, backed by DECOIN, a local
grass-roots NGO, with critical national and international
support, rejected the mining project, and shut down the project
in May of 1997 when they burned the Mitsubishi mining camp
to the ground
Because of its location, the Environmental Impact Statement,
prepared by a prestigious Japanese organization, predicts
social and ecological devastation, including:
• Relocation of 4 communities
• Contamination
of rivers and streams with lead, arsenic, copper, cadmium
and chrome.
• "Massive deforestation" leading to local
climatic change and desertification". This will impact
the
livelihood of thousands of small farmers in the area, and
ravage the regions unequal biological diversity.
• Impacts to the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve,
one of the worlds most biodiverse protected areas.
• Impacts to not less than 28 species of mammals and
birds, including: spectacled bears, jaguars, 2 species monkeys,
mountain tapirs, and many birds, including the spectacular
plate-billed mountain toucan (for a complete list of impacts
and endangered species, please click
here).
• Archeological sites from the Imbaya culture are equally
threatened
We also believe the mining project imperils the region's unique
and inspiring turn towards sustainability and socially just
development the county of Cotacachi has undertaken in recent
years.
Please take a little bit of your time to help the communities
and people of Intag and Cotacachi County stand up for sustainability
and human rights, and contribute to the protection one of
the worlds great biological jewels (see below for model letters).
Time is crucial. We believe the court in under unusually heavy
pressure, and it is abnormally speeding up this case, leaving
us little time to present all our proofs. Write letters and
fax and e mail today (Click here
for a sample letter in Spanish)
For additional information please contact:
DECOIN, Defensa y Conservacion Ecologica de Intag
Casilla 144
Otavalo, Imbabura
Ecuador
decoin@hoy.net
www.decoin.org
Thank you,
Carlos Zorrilla
Executive Director Defensa y Conservacion Ecologica de Intag
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