GEOGRAPHY

Control over territory in the Amazon basin led to a long-lasting dispute between Ecuador and Peru. In 1941, troops were mobilized. Over the course of the war Peru gained control over all the disputed territory and occupied the Ecuadorian province of El Oro and some parts of the province of Loja (some 6% of the country). Two more wars, and a peace agreement reached in 1999, would follow to finally end the dispute.

OIL

In 1972, the construction of the Andean pipeline, which brought oil from the east to the coast was completed, making Ecuador South America's second largest oil exporter.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

There are more then ten indigenous groups living in Ecuador's Amazon, including the Huaorani, Siona, Secoya, Cofan, Shuar, Ashuar, Taramenane, Tagaeri and Quichua.

HUAORANI

The Huaorani people have inhabited the headwaters of the Amazon for millennia and have lived as hunters and gatherers, entirely without contact from outsiders right up until the end of the 1950s. At least one Huaorani clan continues to shun all contact from the outside world. Numbering approximately 1,200 individuals, they continue to maintain a largely traditional lifestyle, living from the rainforest, though missionaries and oil companies have had some influence.

TOURISM

Tropic Journeys in Nature has enjoyed a close relationship with the Huaorani since 1994. Their collaboration has created a program to visit one of their communities located on the upper Shiripuno River.