Burlington Resources, a Houston-based oil company, is involved with two highly controversial oil concessions in the Ecuadorian Amazon and one in the Northern Peruvian Amazon. These are concessions in the territories of three indigenous nations, the Shuar, Achuar and Kichwa, in areas of well-conserved and beautiful tropical rainforests.
The indigenous federations representing the populations that have lived in these ecologically extraordinary areas for thousands of years are opposed to the operations of Burlington. Yet Burlington and its partner, CGC of Argentina, insist they will go forward anyway. They attempt to manipulate and divide the indigenous residents.
Why can’t they understand that no means no?
Legal experts in Ecuador report that Burlington is in violation of both Ecuadorian and International Law through their actions in Blocks 23 and 24. EarthRights International and Amazon Watch are calling for Burlington to recognize and respect the rights of indigenous people of the Amazon by suspending all oil activities relating to Blocks 23 and 24 in Ecuador and Block 64 in Peru.
Burlington Resources, Inc. acquired the Block 24 oil concession from ARCO in 1999. Before it became “Block 24,” these 200,000 hectares of well-preserved rainforest in the south-central Ecuadorian Amazon were known as Transkutukú named after the mountain range that traverses the area. Block 24 may sound like an oil concession but it is also the ancestral homeland of the Shuar and Achuar people. They are represented in this area by legally recognized federations known by their acronyms, FIPSE and FICSH for the Shuar, and FINAE for the Achuar.
All three of these federations have expressed their opposition to the oil activities of ARCO, and now Burlington, in Block 24. For their parts, the companies have failed to consult the federations properly. In 1999, a provincial judge ordered an injunction against dialogue by ARCO officials with non-authorized members of the indigenous federations. The Judge also ruled later that the injunction applied to Burlington once it took over the concession. Despite this, Burlington officials were caught making plans for “community relations,” which amounted trying to divide and conquer the indigenous people of the region by attempting to by-pass indigenous federations that legally represent the people of the territory.
The 200,000 hectares of rainforest known as Block 23 are in the Pastaza province of the Central Ecuadorian Amazon and encompass the territories of Kichwa, Achuar, and Zápara peoples. The concession was awarded to Compania General de Combustibles (CGC) of Argentina in 1996. Chevron became 50% owner of the concession when it bought CGC’s partner, Petrolera Argentina San Jorge, in 1999. Shortly before merging with Texaco, Chevron began the process of selling its share of the concession. The sale by ChevronTexaco to Burlington Resources was completed in March 2003.
The Kichwa community of Sarayacu, the largest community in Block 23 and a member of the legally recognized Kichwa federation, OPIP, has been opposed to the project from the beginning.
The conflict between the community and the company has been intense, including detentions and threats of violence. Sarayacu has declared a state of emergency, fearing for the lives of several of its leaders. On May 5, 2003, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ordered the Ecuadorian government to take immediate precautionary measures in order to protect Sarayacu and individual community leaders who had been threatened with harm.
In the State of Loreto in the Northern Peruvian Amazon, an area encompassing 800,000 hectares of highly biodiverse rainforests and wetlands is designated as oil concession area 64. The area is listed under the Ramsar Convention as one of the world’s most important wetlands. Arco acquired the rights to the area seven years ago and in 1999, Arco sold the concession to Burlington Resources and Occidental Petroleum. For seven years, the Achuar’s unwavering resistance kept ARCO out of the area despite the company’s intimidation tactics of local community leaders.
In the past year, Occidental Petroleum and Burlington have begun to engage in divide and conquer tactics of three indigenous communities who are on the margin of the block. The remaining 7000 affected Achuar people continue to voice their united opposition to any drilling on their lands and have now formed a bi-national Achuar organization with the Achuar in Ecuador.
In November 2000 and again in March 2003, the Ecuadorian government declared force majeure in Blocks 23 and 24. Usually, force majeure refers to natural catastrophes like hurricanes or floods, and allows for the voiding of a contract. In this case, force majeure refers to the vehement indigenous opposition to oil activities. In theory it allows Burlington and CGC either to withdraw from the concessions without paying the government, or to delay deadlines spelled out in the contract.
Indigenous struggle in Ecuador becomes a “force majeure”
EarthRights International, March 12, 2003
FIPSE FICSH FINAE
Pueblos Indigenas de Ecuador
c/o Centro de Derechos Economicos y Sociales
P.O. Box 17-07-8808
Quito Ecuador
Tel: 593 7 700 931
Fax: 593 22 563 517
Bobby Shackouls
CEO Burlington Resources, Inc
5051 Westheimer
Houston, Texas
May 14, 2003
Dear Mr. Shackouls:
The purpose of this communication is to clarify the official position of the legally recognized indigenous federations that represent the Shuar and Achuar people in the areas of Block 23 and 24 in Ecuador. The undersigned represent the Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers (FICSH), the Independent Federation of Shuar Peoples (FIPSE) and the Interprovincial Federation of the Achuar Nation (FINAE), headquartered in the provinces of Morona Santiago and Pastaza, in the Amazon region of Ecuador.
Our position is as follows:
We reject the presence of Burlington in our territories and we call for the company’s immediate withdrawal.
We call on you to comply with the Constitutional Injunction of the Provincial Court of Morona Santiago, which forbids direct contact by your company with individuals and communities without the authorization of FIPSE. This injunction was ratified by the highest court in Ecuador, the Constitutional Tribunal.
We call for immediate compliance with the recommendations of the Civic Commission on Control of Corruption, which include declaring the Block 24 concession to be terminated due to evidence of acts of corruption committed by the government and by your company.
We call for the cessation of all activities by Burlington and Compania General de Combustibles (CGC) of Argentina in Block 23. As with Block 24, these activities have been carried out in violation of legally recognized collective rights of the indigenous communities of the territory.
We call for active cooperation in carrying out the May 5, 2003 Order of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, which orders the Ecuadorian government to take precautionary measures to protect the territory of Sarayaku and the lives and well-being of its leaders.
We wish to remind you that the territories of Blocks 23 and 24 are in fact the ancestral homelands of the Shuar, Achuar, Zapara and Kichwa peoples. The approximately 400,000 hectares that make up the two concession areas contain well-conserved and ecologically diverse primary rainforest. We do not wish to see the contamination, deforestation and cultural destruction that the northern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon has suffered. We believe that our country can develop without destroying our environment and culture, and that there are sustainable alternatives to oil exploitation for our development. We will do everything in our power to see that our rights and our territories are not sacrificed for the sake of paying off foreign debt through oil exports.
We have lived in these forests for millennia, and our culture is an important part of our country and our continent. Furthermore, international law guarantees our right to self-determination. In asserting that right, we hereby call on your company to desist from any further activities in our territories.
Sincerely,
Milton Callera
Presidente FINAE
Bosco Najamdey
Presidente FIPSE
Pablo Tsere
Presidente FICSH
Bobby Shackouls
CEO Burlington Resources, Inc
5051 Westheimer
Houston, Texas
May 14, 2003
Estimado Sr. Shackouls:
El propósito de esta comunicación es clarificar la posición oficial de las federaciones indígenas legalmente reconocidas que representan las nacionalidades Shuar y Achuar en los áreas del Bloque 23 y el Bloque 24 en el Ecuador. Los firmantes de esta carta representan la Federación Interprovincial de los Centros Shuar (FICSH), la Federación Independiente de los Pueblos Shuar del Ecuador (FIPSE) y la Federación Interprovincial de la Nación Achuar del Ecuador (FINAE). Las sedes principales de las tres federaciones están ubicadas en las provincias de Morona Santiago y Pastaza, en la región Amazónica de Ecuador.
Nuestra posición es la siguiente:
Rechazamos la presencia de la Burlington en nuestros territorios y exigimos su inmediato retiro.
Exigimos cumplimiento con el Recurso de Amparo del Tribunal Provincial de Morona Santiago, el cual prohibe contacto directo por parte de su compania con individuos y comunidades sin la autorización de la FIPSE. Este recurso fue ratificado por la corte de más alta instancia en el Ecuador, el Tribunal Constitucional.
Exigimos cumplimiento inmediato con las recomendaciones de la Comisión Cívica para el Control de la Corrupción, las cuales incluyen declarar la terminación de la concesión, considerando la evidencia de actos de corrupción cometidos por el gobierno y por su compania.
Exigimos la cesación de todas las actividades de la Burlington y de la Compania General de Combustibles (CGC) de Argentina en el Bloque 23. Igual como con el Bloque 24, estas actividades han sido adelantados en violación de los derechos colectivos de las comunidades de estos territorios, los cuales son legalmente reconocidos.
Nosotros exigimos cooperación activa por parte del gobierno ecuatoriano para implementar el Orden de la Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos, con fecha 5 de mayo del 2003. El Orden exige al gobierno ecuatoriano tomar medidas cautelarias para proteger al territorio de Sarayaku y las vidas y el bienestar de sus líderes.
Es importante recordarle que los Bloques 23 y 24 son, de hecho, los territorios ancestrales de las nacionalidades Shuar, Achuar, Zápara y Kichwa. Las aproximadadmente 400,000 hectares que constituyen los dos áreas de concesión contienen bosques tropicales primarios que son muy bien conservados y que además son de una alta diversidad ecológica. No queremos vivir la contaminación, deforestación y destrucción cultural que ha caracterizado a la Amazonía del norte del Ecuador. Creemos que nuestro pais puede desarrollarse sin destruir el medio ambiente y la cultura, y que existen alternativas a la explotación petrolera para nuestro desarrollo. Harrémos todo lo que existe dentro de nuestro poder para asegurar que no se sacrifiquen nuestros derechos y nuestros territorios a cambio de pagar la deuda externa con las exportaciones del petróleo.
Hemos vivido dentro de estos bosques por milenios, y nuestra cultura es una parte importante de nuestro pais y nuestro continente. Además, el derecho internacional garantiza nuestro derecho a la auto-determinación. En ejercer este derecho, nosotros exigimos que su compania desiste de adelantar más actividades en nuestros territorios.
Sinceramente,
Milton Callera
Presidente FINAE
Bosco Najamdey
Presidente FIPSE
Pablo Tsere
Presidente FICSH
The power of law and the power of people
in defense of human rights and the environment.
© Copyright 1995-2011, EarthRights International
ERI staff, February 2010
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