The Yasuní Strip of Diversity and Life was created to protect the area’s Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and to uphold the rights of Indigenous and farming communities in the region.
A provincial court recognized that the mining companies violated the communities’ constitutional right to consultation and the rights of nature guaranteed by Ecuador’s Constitution since 2008.
The area is frequented not only by blue whales, but also by humpback whales, sei whales, at least two species of dolphin, the South American sea lion, and colonies of penguins.
Since last August, thousands of Awá have been forcibly displaced or suffered threats, intimidation, torture or forced recruitment by organized crime groups participating in drug trafficking and illegal mining.
Participants made 341 commitments worth nearly $20 billion, including funding for expanding and improving marine protected areas and biodiversity corridors.
Despite being critically endangered, hammerhead sharks have been bought and sold in Costa Rica for years, with demand being driven by shark fin soup.
The Tarímiat Pujutaí Nuṉka Reserve of Andean and Amazonian forests in the Morona Santiago province of eastern Ecuador, where numerous Shuar and Achuar communities have for years been fending off numerous drivers of deforestation.
For years, Thailand has focused on curtailing its illegal trade in terrestrial wildlife. Recently, the country has been doing the same for coral species, a critical element of its marine ecosystems.
One of the decrees annuls mining in Indigenous lands and protected areas, another resumes plans to combat deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes, and a third reinstates the Amazon Fund.
A new study from the University of Auckland shows that reef manta ray populations in the region have seen up to 10.7% compound annual increase from 2009-2019.
