Deforestation, Agrarian Reform and Oil Development in Ecuador, 1964-1994

Abstract

<p align="justify"> <span style="color:black;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Recent biodiversity research in the Western Amazon has emphasized the linkages among road construction, deforestation and loss of indigenous lands. Many observers have concluded that hydrocarbon production inevitably means destruction of forests and expropriation of native territory. Yet evidence from the eastern lowlands of Ecuador (known as the </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Oriente</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">) shows that oil can be developed without roads or harmful impacts. The </span><i><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Oriente</span></i><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> also provides another contrasting case: in areas where no oil was discovered, the government often built roads to support its agricultural colonization efforts. In these areas, a great deal of deforestation and indigenous displacement occurred. Such evidence suggests that a different set of agrarian and environmental policies might permit oil activity without loss of rain forest or indigenous territory.</span></span> </p> <p align="justify"> <span style="color:black;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></span> </p

A Geospatial Approach to Measuring Surface Disturbance Related to Oil and Gas Activities in West Florida, USA

“…Baynard et al [13] [14] also examined the relationship between oil roads and deforestation in eastern Ecuador's tropical forests. Like Musinsky et al [12], as well as Wasserstrom and Southgate [15], these authors observed that oil roads were not necessarily related to deforestation. Instead, open-access roads in remote regions, combined with government policies promoting settlement (or not hindering it), helped explain patterns of development.…”

La colonia interna vigente: transformación del territorio humano en la región amazónica del Ecuador

“…Todo esto fue posible por una política nacional que aprovechaba la presencia de estas empresas para generar medios de colonización amazónica (Wasserstrom y Southgate, 2013) (Fig. 2).…”

Case study: a sustainable livelihoods analysis of a non-governmental organization working with quinoa producers in the province of Chimborazo, Ecuador

“…Ecuador was conquered and occupied by Spaniards, and this period was characterized by the usage of indentured labor and poor treatment of the indigenous populations (Wasserstrom and Southgate 2013). While the country became independent in 1822, discriminatory practices towards indigenous populations continued between Spaniards (and later by their descendants) and indigenous people, which strongly influenced agricultural practices in Ecuador.…”

“…By the 1960s, about 0.4 percent of all land owners owned about 45 percent of total farmland in the country, while the remaining farms, many times too small to support a single family, were owned by small producers (Wasserstrom and Southgate 2013). In 1964, agrarian reform occurred, which provided economic modernization and political stabilization to resolve social conflicts in Ecuador.…”

“…(Wasserstrom and Southgate 2013, 34). Although new reforms redistributed the agricultural land from hacendados to small agricultural producers, the distribution was uneven since the land was characterized as being of poor quality at isolated locations within the Andean highlands (Wasserstrom and Southgate 2013 24 phase, similarly to the first phase, has focused on women as the center for empowerment, but with recognition and use of the community goals, resources, and opportunities discovered in the second phase.…”