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28 April 2000 | Intag | By Carlos Zorrilla
About the Choco
Ecological Value of Ecuador's
Northwest Forests
Social, Economic and Ecological
Impacts
What you can do to help stop
the Ecological Destruction of the Chocó Forests
Species in danger
of extinction in Ecuadorian Choco Ecosystem
TAKE ACTION: Print
and send a copy of this letter to Ecuadorian President, Environmental
Minister, and President of Constitutional Tribunal
About the Choco
The Choco is one of the great ecosystems
of South America, which includes areas that begin in the lowlands
of Panama, bordering the Pacific Ocean, to Ecuador; known
for its biological diversity, the Choco is one of the most
biodiverse regions on the planet.
The Ecuadorian part of this ecosystem, is known as one of
the world’s biological "Hotspots". Of the original forest
extension, estimated at 80,000 square kilometers, only 6%
is left, spread out, west of Ecuador's Western Andes, and
lying mainly on the northern edge of Esmeraldas province.
The devastation of these forests was due, in large part, to
the growth of agriculture on the coast, starting in the early
decades of this century and, during the last four decades,
due to logging. The rate of destruction has made these forests
some of the most devastated in Ecuador.
However, these already besieged Choco forests face yet another
threat: Oil Palm monocropping, which began with open support
of the recently deposed government of President Jamil Mahuad.
Paradoxically, the expectation to develop this monocrop, was
fed by the Ministry of the Environment which, from early 1999,
was well aware of the existence of projects to convert around
sixty thousand hectares of these natural forests to palm oil
plantations. This was confirmed by local officials of the
same Ministry of the Environment, who informed their superiors
in a formal report stating that over 4,000 hectares of wet
tropical forests had already been logged, 2,500 of which were
primary forests. These early warnings did not upset Ecuador's
environmental authorities, represented by Yolanda Kakabadse,
President of the UICN, and then Minister of the Environment.
In effect, the environmental officials began a series of talks
with palm oil companies, which served only to create expectations
to further develop their plans. These government officials
made questionable concessions to the oil palm companies, asking
for environmental impact statements, even though it was illegal
for this kind of activity to take place in these areas particularly
given that there are numerous species in danger of extinction
in these forested areas.
In order to create an oil palm plantation, it is necessary
to log absolutely all of the natural forest; in other words,
to devastate all of the biodiversity, impacting not only nearby
forests, but also local communities and their socio-economic
activities. The destruction of one of the world’s most
important forest, and one of the last on the Ecuadorian coast
should have been sufficient to alert the environmental bureaucracy,
but strangely, when the plans were being made for the devastation
of these forests, the Minister of the Environment encouraged
the oil palm producers by requesting environmental impact
statements which would provide a cover of legitimacy before
they began their operations. This took place in March of 1999.
One year later, the National Forestry Director proclaimed
that they would "put a brake to the expansion of the palm
oil industry", admitting that, to date, 8,000 hectares
of native forests had been destroyed. This declaration is
especially strange in light of the fact that the same ministerial
team encouraged the felling of the forest to begin with.
The plan of the oil palm companies has converted around 100,000
hectares (250,000 acres) of native forests to monocropped
African Oil Palm plantations, in the northern area of Esmeraldas
province. However, in light of the economic dynamism of the
country, the success of this crop in economic terms could
attract hundreds of investors and speculators interested in
creating more plantations. Therefore, these forests could
easily be destroyed in a very short period. It should be remembered
that a similar logic now being applied to these forested areas,
was previously applied to the mangroves. In this case, the
shrimp industry took over the mangroves, and two decades later,
this activity has almost totally destroyed this ecosystem
in Ecuador. And even today, there are not enough government
officials to deal with this problem.
Only when President Mahuad´s government was forced to
step down, which brought to an end Ms. Kakabadse’s term
as Minister of the Environment, the new environmental authorities
imposed a 2 million dollar fine on one of the companies involved
in this ecological destruction. However, this sanction has
not been confirmed, and it could be overturned in the coming
days.
Ecological Value of Ecuador's Northwest Forests
The
Ecuadorian Choco Ecosystem includes the Cayapas Mataje Mangrove
Reserve, the Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve, and the
Awa Indigenous Reserve. There are also vast natural forests
outside these areas. According to an important study being
circulated all over the world, "the forests that grow on the
coasts and on the flanks of the mountains in Western Ecuador,
are very important due to the great number of species and
their high rate of endemism. It is calculated that in this
region, there are more than 6,300 species of vascular plants,
and that 1.200 of these (19%), are regional-endemics. Avifauna
diversity is also very high in this area, with more than 800
species, 40 of which are endemic. With regards to mammals,
this area is home to more than 142 species, 15 of which are
regional endemics. Other groups of vertebrates with a high
rate of regional endemism are the Chiroptera (approximately
30 of the country's 125; or a 24% rate of endemism) and the
amphibians (60% of the total). Many of these endemic species
have a very limited range, in other words, they live in a
few square kilometers, like on the tops of certain mountains,
which makes them particularly vulnerable to extinction. These
jungles once covered about 80,000 square kilometers of the
western lowlands; however, of this original forested area,
less than 6% remains, making this one of the most devastated
regions in Ecuador"
(from Mittermier and others, MEGADIVERSIDAD. Conservation
International, 1997, Pg. 316; also see: Albuja, Luis and others,
in: Status of Forest Remnants in the Cordillera de la Costa
and Adjacent Areas of Southwestern Ecuador. Conservation International,
Escuela Politecnica Nacional. Washington,1992).
The desire of the companies to create oil palm monocropping
in an ecologically important place is reprehensible, since
there are many other areas in Ecuador in which this crop could
be raised.
Social, Economic and Ecological Impacts
The legal,
social, economic and ecological impacts of oil palm monocropping
are multiple, the principal ones being:
- Forced relocation of the area's small farmers: In order
to develop the monocrop system, the companies have acquired
the rights to about 60,000 hectares from the area's inhabitants
(overwhelmingly made up of small, subsistence farmers).
The inhabitants of these lands must abandon their farms
and make their way to nearby towns and the country's large
cities, move to the remaining natural forests, or settle
in the ancestral territories of the native Afro-Ecuadorian
communities or that of the indigenous Awa and Chachi tribes,
which could provoke confrontations.
- The elimination of the natural forest and the remnants
will endanger the region’s biodiversity and will, in
particular, lead to the extinction of both wild and endemic
fauna and flora species of the area, species that exist
nowhere else on the planet. According to national and international
experts, there are more than 20 species of animals in danger
of extinction in this area (see chart).
- Large quantities of pesticides and toxic agro-chemicals
are used in African oil palm monocropping, which cause impacts
to the health of both humans and animals, and to the adjacent
natural forests. Once the oil palm monocropping has been
developed, the area's water and air resources will suffer
tremendous impacts and this, in turn, will impact:
- The surrounding communities,
- The Cayapas-Mataje Mangrove Ecological Reserve and the
mangrove ecosystem close to the area for which oil palm
monocropping is planned, and this will affect the pre-existing
social-economic activities, such as the collecting of
bio-aquatic resources, shrimp farming, and so on; the
effects of pesticides and other toxic agro-chemical residues
in the human organism, as well as on soil and water, are
of long duration; and
- In the case of the human organism, some are of permanent
duration and also bioaccumulate.
- Oil Palm plantation waste products take up large amounts
of biologically active oxygen, which causes a drop in the
oxygen content of the water these waste products come in
contact with, which, in turn, causes the extinction of fish,
plants and other aquatic organisms. Oxygen depletion, together
with the contamination of the water resources with agro-chemicals,
will eliminate or substantially impact the aquatic organism
found in the rivers, lakes, estuaries and wetlands, and
the mangrove ecosystem- which form the basis for fishing
and shrimp activities, plus the artisanal harvesting of
mollusks and crustaceans. These impacts will disrupt the
local food web, thereby destroying the main source of income
for local residents.
What you can do to help stop the Ecological Destruction
of the Chocó Forests
To stop the destruction
of the native forests of the Choco Ecosystem, Ecuador´s
Ombudsman and the Corporation for the Defense of Life, CORDAVI,
have presented a constitutional injunction, which presently
is being considered by Ecuador's Constitutional Tribunal.
This legal action asks the national government to declare
the zone an ecological emergency and halt the destructive
activities in its native forests.
Also, in the last days of March, the new environmental authorities
of the Minister of the Environment fined one of the companies
responsible for the destruction of some of the forests in
mention.
In the destruction of Choco´s forests, in the northern
part of Esmeraldas, there are various powerful business interests
involved with huge political influence in the Executive, as
well as the Legislative powers of the nation. For this reason,
it is essential to support the legal measures taken to prevent
the destruction continuing. It is also necessary to back up
the actual Minister of the Environment, Mr. Rodolfo Rendon,
so the fine imposed is collected.
Unless international measures are taken to pressure the Ecuadorian
government to respect the last natural coastal forests of
the country, the political-economic powers that are destroying
these last forests, no national environmental or legal force
will be able to stop these powerful business interests.
In order to demand that the destruction of these immensely
biologically diverse forests be stopped, please send your
letters (printable copy of letter)
to:
1. Ecuador's President: tel 593-2- 584 000 (ask to send a
fax)
2. Constitutional Tribunal: Fax: 593-2 569 861
3. Embassy and Consulate closest to you.
Please also send copies of your letters to: PO Box 17-12-309
Quito, Ecuador
Fax: 593-2 — 555 694
Email: elaw@cordavi.org.ec
and dapddp@uio.satnet.net
For more information, contact Corporation for the Defense
of Life, at the indicated addresses.
Defensoría del Pueblo
Fax: 593-2 — 555 694;
EMAIL: dapddp@uio.satnet.net
CORDAVI
Fax: 593-2-894 500
Address: PO Box 17-12-309, Quito, Ecuador
Email: elaw@cordavi.org.ec
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