The Agony of the Ecuadorian Choco
by Byron Real

May/Mayo 2000

The Choco is one of the great ecosystems of South America. It includes areas that begin in the lowlands of Panama, bordering the Pacific Ocean, to Ecuador. Known for its biological diversity, the Choco is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.

The Ecuadorian part of this ecosystem, is known as one of the world's biological "Hotspots." Of the original forest extension, estimated at 80,000 square kilometers, only 6 percent is left, spread out, west of Ecuador's Western Andes, and lying mainly on the northern edge of Esmeraldas province.

The devastation of these forests was due, in large part, to the growth of agriculture on the coast, starting in the early decades of this century and, during the last four decades, due to logging. The rate of destruction has made these forests the most devastated in Ecuador.

However, these already besieged Choco forests face yet another threat: Oil Palm monocropping, which began with open support of the recently deposed government of President Jamil Mahuad. Paradoxically, the expectation to develop this monocrop, was fed by the Ministry of the Environment, which, from early 1999, was well aware of the existence of projects to convert around sixty thousand hectares of these natural forests into palm oil plantations. This was confirmed by local officials of the same Ministry of the Environment, who informed their superiors in a formal report stating that over 4,000 hectares of wet tropical forests had already been logged -- 2,500 of which were primary forests. These early warnings did not upset Ecuador's environmental authorities, represented by Yolanda Kakabadse, President of the IUCN, and then Minister of the Environment.

In effect, the environmental officials began a series of talks with palm oil companies, which served only to create expectations to further develop their plans. These government officials made questionable concessions to the oil palm companies, asking for environmental impact statements, even though it was illegal for this kind of activity to take place, particularly given that there are numerous species in danger of extinction in these forested areas.

In order to create an oil palm plantation, it is necessary to log absolutely all of the natural forest; in other words, to devastate all of the biodiversity, impacting not only nearby forests, but also local communities and their socio-economic activities. The destruction of one of the world's most important forests, and one of the last on the Ecuadorian coast should have been sufficient to alert the environmental bureaucracy, but strangely, when the plans were being made for the devastation of these forests, the Minister of the Environment encouraged the oil palm producers by requesting environmental impact statements which would provide a cover of legitimacy before they began their operations. This took place in March of 1999.

One year later, the National Forestry Director proclaimed that they would "put a brake to the expansion of the palm oil industry," admitting that, to date, 8,000 hectares of native forests had been destroyed. This declaration is especially strange in light of the fact that the same ministerial team originally encouraged the felling of the forest.

The plan of the oil palm companies is to convert around 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of native forests to monocropped African Oil Palm plantations in the northern area of Esmeraldas province. However, in light of the economic dynamism of the country, the success of this crop in economic terms could attract hundreds of investors and speculators interested in creating more plantations. Therefore, these forests could easily be destroyed in a very short period. It should be remembered that a similar logic now being applied to these forested areas, was previously applied to the mangroves. In this case, the shrimp industry took over the mangroves, and two decades later, this activity has almost totally destroyed this ecosystem in Ecuador.

Only after President Mahuad´s government was forced to step down, which brought to an end Ms. Kakabadse's term as Minister of the Environment, the new environmental authorities imposed a 2 million dollar fine on one of the companies involved in this ecological destruction . However, this sanction has not been confirmed, and it could be overturned in the coming days.

Ecological Value of Ecuador's Northwest Forests

The Ecuadorian Choco Ecosystem includes the Cayapas Mataje Manglares Reserve, the Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve, and the Awa Indian Reserve. According to an important study being circulated all over the world, "the forests that grow on the coasts and on the flanks of the mountains in Western Ecuador, are very important due to the great number of species and their high rate of endemism. It is calculated that in this region, there are more than 6,300 species of vascular plants, and that 1,200 of these (19 percent) are regional-endemics.

Avifauna diversity is also very high in this area, with more than 800 species, 40 of which are endemic. In regards to mammals, this area is home to more than 142 species, 15 of which are regional endemics. Other groups of vertebrates with a high rate of regional endemism are the Chiroptera (approximately 30 of the country's 125; or a 24 percent rate of endemism) and the amphibians (60 percent of the total). Many of these endemic species have a very limited range. In other words, they live in a few square kilometers, such as the tops of certain mountains, which makes them particularly vulnerable to extinction.

These jungles once covered about 80,000 square kilometers of the western lowlands. However, of this original forested area, less than 6 percent remains, making this "one of the most devastated regions in Ecuador" (from Mittermier and others, MEGADIVERSIDAD. Conservation International, 1997, Pg. 316; also see: Albuja, Luis and others, in: Status of Forest Remnants in the Cordillera de la Costa and Adjacent Areas of Southwestern Ecuador. Conservation International, Escuela Politecnica Nacional. Washington,1992).

The desire of the companies to create oil palm monocropping in an ecologically important place is reprehensible, since there are many other areas in Ecuador in which this crop could be raised.

Social, Economic and Ecological Impacts

The following are the principle legal, social, economic and ecological impacts of oil palm monocropping:

1. Forced relocation of the area's small farmers: In order to develop the monocrop system, the companies have acquired the rights to about 60,000 hectares from the area's inhabitants (overwhelmingly made up of small, subsistence farmers). The inhabitants of these lands must abandon their farms and make their way to nearby towns and the country's large cities, move to the remaining natural forests, or settle in the ancestral territories of the native Afro-Ecuadorian communities or that of the indigenous Awa and Chachi tribes, which could provoke confrontations.

2. The elimination of the natural forest and its remnants will endanger the region's biodiversity and will, in particular, lead to the extinction of both wild and endemic fauna and flora species of the area, species that exist nowhere else on the planet. According to national and international experts, there are more than 20 species of animals in danger of extinction in this area (see chart).

3. Large quantities of pesticides and toxic agro-chemicals are used in African oil palm monocropping, which impacts the health of both humans and animals and the adjacent natural forests. Once the oil palm monocropping has been developed, the area's water and air resources will suffer and this, in turn, will impact:

b) The Cayapas-Mataje Mangrove Ecological Reserve and the mangrove ecosystem close to the area for which oil palm monocropping is planned, and this will affect the pre-existing social-economic activities, such as the collecting of bio-acuatic resources, shrimp farming, and so on; the effects of pesticides and other toxic agro-chemical residues in the human organism, as well as on soil and water, are of long duration; and

c) In the case of the human organism, some are of permanent duration and also bioaccumulate.

4. Oil Palm plantation waste products take up large amounts of biologically active oxygen, which causes a drop in the oxygen content of the water these waste products come in contact with, which, in turn, causes the extinction of fish, plants and other acuatic organisms. Oxygen depletion, together with the contamination of the water resources with agro-chemicals, will eliminate or substantially impact the aquatic organism found in the rivers, lakes, estuaries and wetlands, and the mangrove ecosystem- which form the basis for fishing and shrimp activities, plus the artisanal harvesting of mollusks and crustaceans. These impacts will disrupt the local food web, thereby destroying the main source of income for local residents.

What you can do to help stop the Ecological Destruction of the Choco Forests

To stop the destruction of the native forests of the Choco Ecosystem, Ecuador´s Ombudsman and the Corporation for the Defense of Life, CORDAVI, have presented a constitutional injunction, which presently is being considered by Ecuador's Constitutional Tribunal. This legal action asks the national government to declare the zone an ecological emergency and halt the destructive activities in its native forests.

Also, in the last days of March, the new environmental authorities of the Minister of the Environment fined one of the companies responsible for the destruction of some of the forests in mention.

In the destruction of Choco´s forests, in the northern part of Esmeraldas, there are various powerful business interests involved who have great political influence in the Executive, as well as the Legislative powers of the nation. For this reason, it is essential to support the legal measures taken to prevent the destruction. It is also necessary to support the current Minister of the Environment, Mr. Rodolfo Rendon, so that fines are collected.

Byron Real is an Ecuadorian environmentalist lawyers, member of Corporacion de Defensa de la Vida, CORDAVI, the first NGO specialized in Environmental Law in Ecuador. He has worked for the past 15 years in the defense of natural areas and indigenous territories and has written several books about environmental law and policy.

With the Defensoria del Pueblo del Ecuador (Ombudsman), CORDAVI, presented an injuction case to protect the natural forests of the Choco Ecosystem. These environmental groups encourage readers to write letters voicing these concerns to authorities. To participate in this campaign, contact the author via CORDAVI at elaw@cordavi.org.ec; PO box 12-12-309, Quito, Ecuador; Phone: 593-2-893 422; 593-9-822 342. Fax. 594 500

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