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

Abstract

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 Oriente) shows that oil can be developed without roads or harmful impacts. The Oriente 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.

 

Share and Cite:

R. Wasserstrom and D. Southgate, "Deforestation, Agrarian Reform and Oil Development in Ecuador, 1964-1994," Natural Resources, Vol. 4 No. 1, 2013, pp. 31-44. doi: 10.4236/nr.2013.41004.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] M. Finer, D. N. Jenkins, S. L. Pimm, B. Keane and C. Ross, “Oil and Gas Projects in the Western Amazon: Threats to Wilderness, Biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples,” PLoS ONE, Vol. 3, No. 8, 2008, Article ID: e22932. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002932
[2] Wildlife Conservation Society, “The Global Conservation Program. Achievements and Lessons Learned from 10 Years of Support for Threats-Based Conservation at a Landscape and Seascape Scale,” 2008. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pdacp728.pdf
[3] E. Suárez, M. Morales, R. Cueva, V. U. Bucheli, G. Zapata-Ríos, E. Toral, J. Torres, W. Prado and J. V. Olalla, “Oil Industry, Wild Meat Trade and Roads: Indirect Effects of Oil Extraction Activities in a Protected Area in North-Eastern Ecuador,” Animal Conservation, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2009, pp. 364-373. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00262.x
[4] M. S. Bass, M. Finer, C. N. Jenkins, H, Kreft, D. F. Cisneros-Heredia, S. F. McCraken, et al., “Global Conservation Significance of Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park,” PLoS ONE, Vol. 5, No. 1. p. e8767.
[5] Sven Wunder, “Oil Wealth and the Fate of the Forest,” Routledge, London, 2003.
[6] B. T. Orellana, “Avance de la Deforestación de los Bosques Amazónicos del Ecuador,” Centro de Levantamientos Integrados de Recursos Naturales por Sensores Remotos (CLIRSEN), Quito, 2007.
[7] Animaría Varea, “Marea Negra en la Amazonía,” AbyaYala, Quito, 1995.
[8] J. Kimerling, “Amazon Crude,” Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, 1991.
[9] J. Kimerling, “Indigenous Peoples and the Oil Frontier in Amazonia: The Case of Ecuador, Chevron Texaco and Aguinda v. Texaco,” Indigenous Law and Politics, Vol. 38, No. 3, 2006, pp. 413-664.
[10] J. Kimerling, “Transnational Operations, Bi-National Injustice: ChevronTexaco and Indigenous Huaorani and Kichwa in the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador,” American Indian Law Review, Vol. 31, No. 2, 1997, pp. 445-508. doi:10.2307/20070795
[11] S. Sawyer, “Crude Chronicles. Indigenous Politics, Multinational Oil, and Neoliberalism in Ecuador,” Duke University Press, Durham, 2004.
[12] S. Sawyer, “Suing ChevronTexaco,” In: C. de la Torre and S. Striffler, Eds., The Ecuador Reader, Duke University Press, Durham, 2004, pp. 321-328.
[13] D. Schodt, “Ecuador: An Andean Enigma,” Westview Press, Boulder, 1987.
[14] World Bank, “World Development Indicators,” 2010. http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators
[15] G. Philip, “Oil and Politics in Latin America,” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511528149
[16] M. Whitaker and D. Green, “Development Policy and Agriculture,” In: M. Whitaker and D. Colyer, Eds., Agriculture and Economic Survival: The Role of Agriculture in Ecuador’s Development, Westview Press, Boulder, 1990, p. 26.
[17] D. Southgate and M. Whitaker, “Economic Progress and the Environment: One Developing Country’s Policy Crisis,” Oxford University Press, New York, 1994.
[18] S. Wunder, “Oil Wealth and the Fate of the Forest,” Routledge, London, 2003.
[19] H. Ramos and L. Robison, “Credit and Credit Policies,” In: M. Whitaker and D. Colyer, Eds., Agriculture and Economic Survival: The Role of Agriculture in Ecuador’s Development, Westview Press, Boulder, 1990, pp. 225245.
[20] World Bank, “Ecuador. Development Problems and Prospects,” World Bank, Washington DC, 1979.
[21] R. Vos, “Petróleo, Estado y Cambio Agrario. Ecuador 1972-1984,” In: P. Gonard, J. León and P. Sylva, Eds., Transformaciones Agrarias en el Ecuador, Centro de Investigaciones Geográficas, Quito, 1988, pp. 21-23.
[22] D. Southgate and M. Whitaker, “Economic Progress and the Environment: One Developing Country’s Policy Crisis,” Oxford University Press, New York, 1994.
[23] C. Larrea, “The Mirage of Development: Oil, Employment, and Poverty in Ecuador,” Ph.D. Thesis, York University, York, 1992.
[24] T. Rudel and B. Horowitz, “Tropical Deforestation. Small Farmers and Land Clearing in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” Columbia University Press, New York, 1993.
[25] D. Southgate, “Policies Contributing to Agricultural Colonization,” In: N. Sharma, Ed., Managing the World’s Tropical Forests: Looking for Balance between Conservation and Development, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, 1992, p. 227.
[26] M. Whitaker, “The Human Capital and Science Base,” In: M. Whitaker and D. Colyer, Eds., Agriculture and Economic Survival: The Role of Agriculture in Ecuador’s Development, Westview Press, Boulder, 1990, pp. 301-326.
[27] J. L. Gallup, “Geography and Socioeconomic Development (Background Paper),” Andean Competitiveness Project, Harvard University, Cambridge, 2000. http://www.cid.harvard.edu/archive/andes/index.html
[28] F. Pichón, “Sustainable and Inclusive Rural Development,” In: V. Fretes-Cibils, M. Giugale and E. Somensatto, Eds., Revisiting Ecuador’s Economic and Social Agenda in an Evolving Landscape, World Bank, Washington DC, 2008, p. 278.
[29] M. Whitaker and J. Alzamora, “Production Agriculture: Nature and Characteristics,” In: M. Whitaker and D. Colyer, Eds., Agriculture and Economic Survival: The Role of Agriculture in Ecuador’s Development, Westview Press Boulder, 1990, pp. 131-159.
[30] M. Redclift, “Agrarian Reform and Peasant Organization on the Ecuadorian Coast,” Athlone Press, London, 1978.
[31] J. Zevallos, “Oil, Power and Rural Change in Ecuador: 1972-1979,” Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1985.
[32] O. Barsky, “Iniciativa Terrateniente en las Transformaciones de la Sierra Ecuatoriana: 1959-1964,” Pontífica Universidad Católica Quito, Quito, 1978.
[33] M. Redclift, “Agrarian Reform and Peasant Organisation on the Ecuadorian Coast,” Athlone Press, London, 1978.
[34] Junta Nacional de Planificación y Coordinación Económica (JNPC), “El Aprovechamiento de la Tierra y el Mar, Tomo II, Reforma a la Estructura de Tenencia de la Tierra y Expansión de la Frontera Agrícola, Capitulo II, Colonización,” JNPC, Quito, 1963.
[35] R. J. Bromley, “The Colonization of Humid Tropical Areas of Ecuador,” Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1981, pp. 15-26. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9493.1981.tb00114.x
[36] J. Uquillas, “Indian Land Rights and Natural Resource Management in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” In: T. Macdonald Jr., Ed., Native Peoples and Economic Development. Six Case Studies from Latin America, Cultural Survival, Inc., Cambridge, 1985, pp. 87-103.
[37] L. A, Brown, R. Sierra, D. Southgate and L. Labao, “Complimentary Perspectives as a Means of Understanding Regional Change: Frontier Settlement in the Ecuador Amazon,” Environment and Planning A, Vol. 24, No. 7, 1992, pp. 939-961. doi:10.1068/a240939
[38] T. Rudel and B. Horowitz, “Tropical Deforestation. Small Farmers and Land Clearing in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” Columbia University Press, New York, 1993.
[39] J. D. Martz, “Politics and Petroleum in Ecuador,” Transaction Books, New Brunswick, 1987.
[40] B. Muratorio, “The Life and Times of Grandfather Alonso,” Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 1991.
[41] Ministerio de Recursos Naturales y Energéticos, “Contrato Celebrado entre el Gobierno del Ecuador (Ministerio de Recursos Naturales y Energéticos) a Favor de las Companías,” Ecuadorean Gulf Oil Company’ y Texaco Petroleum Company, Quito, 1973.
[42] J. Zevallos, “Oil, Power and Rural Change in Ecuador: 1972-1979,” Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1985.
[43] M. Redclift, “Agrarian Reform and Peasant Organisation on the Ecuadorian Coast,” Athlone Press, London, 1978.
[44] J. Zevallos, “Oil, Power and Rural Change in Ecuador: 1972-1979,” Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1985.
[45] C. Luzuriaga and C. Zuvekas Jr., “Income Distribution and Poverty in Rural Ecuador, 1950-1979,” Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona, 1983.
[46] H. Barral, “La Región Amazónica Ecuatoriana,” Centro Ecuatoriano de Investigación Geográfica, Quito, 1983.
[47] L. Ruíz, “Amazonía ecuatoriana. Escenario y actores del 2000,” EcoCiencia-Comité Ecuatoriano de la UICN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), Quito, 2000.
[48] J. Uquillas, “Colonization and Spontaneous Settlement in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” In: M. Schmink and C. H. Wood, Eds., Frontier Expansion in Amazonia, 1984, pp. 276-277.
[49] M. Hiraoka and S. Yamamoto, “Agricultural Development in the Upper Amazon of Ecuador,” Geographical Review, Vol. 70, No. 4, 1980, p. 429. doi:10.2307/214077
[50] M. Hiraoka and S. Yamamoto, “Agricultural Development in the Upper Amazon of Ecuador,” Geographical Review, Vol. 70, No. 4, 1980, p. 433. doi:10.2307/214077
[51] Instituto Ecuatoriano Forestal y de Areas Naturales y Vida Silvestre (INEFAN), “Documentación Sobre la Problemática de los Colonos en la Reserve de Producción Faunística Cuyabeno,” INEFAN, Quito, 1993.
[52] P. E. Little, “Amazonia. Territorial Struggles on Perennial Frontiers,” Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1991.
[53] E. E. Hegen, “Highways into the Upper Amazon,” University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 1966.
[54] B. Muratorio, “The Life and Times of Grandfather Alonso,” Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 1991.
[55] T. Macdonald Jr., “Indigenous Responses to an Expanding Frontier: Jungle Quichua Economic Conversion to Cattle Ranching,” In: N. Whitten Jr., Ed., Cultural Transformations and Ethnicity in Modern Ecuador, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1981, pp. 360-361.
[56] N. E. Whitten Jr., “Sacha Runa,” University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1976.
[57] G. Fontaine, “Análisis y Evaluación de la Gestión de los Conflictos en el Bloque 10 (Ecuador),” Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), Quito, 2004.
[58] Robin Draper and Christopher Slack, “Narrow Rain Forest ROW Forces Innovation for Ecuadorian Flowline Installation,” Oil & Gas Journal, Vol. 98, No. 25, 2000. http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/75621/articles/oil-gas-journal/volume-98/issue-25/transportation/narrow-rain-forest-row-forces-innovation-for-ecuadorian-flowline-installation.html
[59] E. Salazar, “The Federación Shuar and the Colonization Frontier,” In: N. Whitten Jr., Ed., Cultural Transformations and Ethnicity in Modern Ecuador, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1981, p. 605.
[60] M. Harner, “The Jívaro. People of the Sacred Waterfalls,” Doubleday, Garden City, 1972.
[61] A.-C. Taylor, “God-Wealth: The Achuar and the Missions,” In: N. Whitten Jr., Ed., Cultural Transformations and Ethnicity in Modern Ecuador, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1981, p. 651.
[62] T. Rudel and B. Horowitz, “Tropical Deforestation. Small Farmers and Land Clearing in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” Columbia University Press, New York, 1993, p. 76.
[63] J. D. Martz, “Politics and Petroleum in Ecuador,” Transaction Books, New Brunswick, 1987.
[64] J. Hicks, “Ecuador’s Amazon Region,” World Bank, Washington DC, 1990.
[65] Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC), “Censo de Población y Vivienda,” INEC, Quito, 1990.
[66] Instituto Ecuatoriano de Reforma Agraria y Colonización, “La Regionalización Para la Reforma Agraria,” IERAC, Quito, 1976.
[67] D. Southgate and M. Whitaker, “Economic Progress and the Environment: One Developing Country’s Policy Crisis,” Oxford University Press, New York, 1994.
[68] T. Rudel and B. Horowitz, “Tropical Deforestation. Small Farmers and Land Clearing in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” Columbia University Press, New York, 1993, pp. 44-46.
[69] R. Vos, “Petróleo, Estado y Cambio Agrario. Ecuador 1972-1984,” In: P. Gonard, J. León and P. Sylva, Eds., Transformaciones Agrarias en el Ecuador, Centro de Investigaciones Geográficas, Quito, 1988, pp. 22-35.
[70] World Bank, “Ecuador. Public Sector Reforms for Growth in the Era of Declining Oil Output,” International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Washington DC, 1991.
[71] World Bank, “Ecuador Poverty Report,” World Bank, Washington DC, 1996.
[72] World Bank, “Ecuador Poverty Report,” World Bank, Washington DC, 1996.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.