VISITS TO LAND WAORANI

Petroleum Companies

Our land is the most affected in the area, since more than 72% of this Amazon territory already contains about 64 oil and gas wells.

The imminent danger facing our community involves the appearance of new diseases that our immunological systems won’t be able to resist.

This represents a new direct and brutal threat to the rights of our community.

International agreements defend the rights to our territory and literally prohibit surrendering concessions for the exploitation of natural resources without our consent. Neither our community nor nature itself gave explicit permission for the destruction of this zone, considered the “lungs of the world”…

Logging Companies

Large quantities of wood are being extracted from our territory, including from the Yasuni Park and the zone of Yasuni where it is absolutely prohibited. There have been violent conflicts between loggers, Waorani and groups that have chosen to live isolated from all other people. Although the Waorani women are unilaterally opposed to the cutting down and selling of trees in our territory, the logging continues. According to some investigations, the majority of the wood goes to Colombia. The wood being extracted is of very high quality and valuable.

Unfortunately, there are some of our Waorani brothers who negotiate with the lumber companies, whereas other Waorani brothers fight against the illegal logging. Today, it’s an internal conflict in our Waorani nation that we’re trying to solve, while we look for other forms of income that are more sustainable and don’t damage the forest.

In May of 2008, the Minister of the Environment opened a control point in the Maxus Road between Francisco de Orellana (Coca) and the Waorani community of Tiwino. According to initial reports, it has decreased the transporting of illegal wood. However, we are afraid that the logging companies will look for other routes of access to avoid the authorities.