Ecuador Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Geography== {{Main|Geography of Ecuador}} {{see also|Rivers of Ecuador}} [[File:Ecuador Topography.png|thumb|Ecuadorian topography]] [[File:Vólcan Cotopaxi.jpg|thumb|Historically famous [[Cotopaxi]] Volcano]] [[File:Napo Wildlife Center Ecolodge.JPG|thumb|Napo Wildlife Center in the [[Yasuní National Park]]]] According to the CIA, Ecuador has a total area of {{convert|283571|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, including the [[Galápagos Islands]]. Of this, {{convert|276841|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} is land and {{convert|6720|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} water.<ref name="CIA" /> The total area, according to the Ecuadorian government's foreign ministry, is {{convert|256370|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 January 2020 |title=Bienvenidos al Ecuador – Geografía – Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana |url=https://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/bienvenidos-geografia-del-ecuador/ |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=es |archive-date=26 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126122240/https://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/bienvenidos-geografia-del-ecuador/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> The Galápagos Islands are sometimes considered part of [[Oceania]],<ref name="realm">{{cite book |last1=Todd |first1=Ian |title=Island Realm: A Pacific Panorama |date=1974 |publisher=Angus & Robertson |page=190 |isbn=9780207127618 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gcEJAQAAIAAJ&q=%22French+language+cultures%22+1974+pacific |access-date=2 February 2022 |quote=[we] can further define the word ''culture'' to mean ''language''. Thus we have the French language part of Oceania, the Spanish part and the Japanese part. The Japanese culture groups of Oceania are the Bonin Islands, the Marcus Islands and the Volcano Islands. These three clusters, lying south and south-east of Japan, are inhabited either by Japanese or by people who have now completely fused with the Japanese race. Therefore they will not be taken into account in the proposed comparison of the policies of non – Oceanic cultures towards Oceanic peoples. On the eastern side of the Pacific are a number of Spanish language culture groups of islands. Two of them, the Galapagos and Easter Island, have been dealt with as separate chapters in this volume. Only one of the dozen or so Spanish culture island groups of Oceania has an Oceanic population — the Polynesians of Easter Island. The rest are either uninhabited or have a Spanish – Latin – American population consisting of people who migrated from the mainland. Therefore, the comparisons which follow refer almost exclusively to the English and French language cultures. |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404112846/https://books.google.com/books?id=gcEJAQAAIAAJ&q=%22French+language+cultures%22+1974+pacific |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Review of the Protected Areas System in Oceania |date=1986 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |url=https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30152/RevOceania.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=17 January 2022 |quote=Easter Island on the east has been included on the basis of its Polynesian and biogeographic affinities even though it is politically apart. The other islands of the eastern Pacific (Galapagos, Juan Fernandez, etc.) have sometimes been included in Oceania. |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120062626/https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30152/RevOceania.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hull |first1=Frank M. |title=A Check List of the Syrphidae of Oceania |date=1937 |publisher=Department of Biology, University of Missouri |url=http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/pdf/op13-10.pdf |access-date=17 January 2022 |quote=Oceania is primarily considered as the restricted region treated in this paper, but for comparative purposes, in the table only, it is also considered in a broad sense as including New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Antipodes, and Galapagos. |archive-date=26 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126074835/http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/pdf/op13-10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Eckert |first1=Scott A. |last2=Alvarado |first2=Javier |last3=Balazs |first3=George H. |last4=Byles |first4=Richard |last5=C. Craig |first5=Peter |last6=Dutton |first6=Peter Howard |last7=L. Eckert |first7=Karen |last8=Engbring |first8=John |last9=Maragos |first9=James E. |last10=Pultz |first10=Susan |last11=Richardson |first11=James Ingram |title=Recovery Plan for U.S. Pacific Populations of the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys Imbricata) |date=1998 |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service |pages=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=si33pkypsggC&dq=%22oceania%22+%22galapagos%22+%22indonesia%22&pg=PA7 |quote=Foraging hawksbills have been reported from virtually all of the island groups of Oceania, from the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific to the Republic of Palau in the western Pacific. |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=4 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004050651/https://books.google.com/books?id=si33pkypsggC&dq=%22oceania%22+%22galapagos%22+%22indonesia%22&pg=PA7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="harv">{{cite book |last1=Bequaert |first1=Joseph C. |title=The Hippoboscidae of Oceania |date=1941 |publisher=Harvard Medical School |url=http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/pdf/op16-11.pdf |access-date=24 January 2022 |quote=In the present taxonomic study of the Hippoboscidae, Oceania covers, rather arbitrarily, the many archipelagos and isolated islands scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean, from the Marianas and Caroline Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia to the Hawaiian islands and the Galapagos. |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124010141/http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/pdf/op16-11.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Frank P. |title=Oceania and Beyond: Essays on the Pacific Since 1945 |date=1976 |publisher=Greenwood Press |pages=20–21 |isbn=9780837189048 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzMhAAAAMAAJ&q=%22one+might+add+Chile+and+Ecuador%22 |access-date=7 February 2022 |quote=It is clear that since World War II, Britain, in contrast to France and the United States (and one might say Chile and Ecuador, which hold, respectively, Easter Island and the Galapagos Islands), conceived of Oceania as a region of sovereign nations living in a spirit of commonwealth. |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517051214/https://books.google.com/books?id=tzMhAAAAMAAJ&q=%22one+might+add+Chile+and+Ecuador%22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Aldrich |first1=Robert |title=France and the South Pacific Since 1940 |date=1993 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |page=347 |isbn=9780824815585 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLTDYaHhrZgC&dq=%22oceania%22+%22galapagos%22+%22south+pacific%22&pg=PA347 |access-date=18 February 2022 |quote=Britain's high commissioner in New Zealand continues to administer Pitcairn, and the other former British colonies remain members of the Commonwealth of Nations, recognizing the British Queen as their titular head of state and vesting certain residual powers in the British government or the Queen's representative in the islands. Australia did not cede control of the Torres Strait Islands, inhabited by a Melanesian population, or Lord Howe and Norfolk Island, whose residents are of European ancestry. New Zealand retains indirect rule over Niue and Tokelau and has kept close relations with another former possession, the Cook Islands, through a compact of free association. Chile rules Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Ecuador rules the Galapagos Islands. The Aboriginals of Australia, the Maoris of New Zealand and the native Polynesians of Hawaii, despite movements demanding more cultural recognition, greater economic and political considerations or even outright sovereignty, have remained minorities in countries where massive waves of migration have completely changed society. In short, Oceania has remained one of the least completely decolonized regions on the globe. |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517051213/https://books.google.com/books?id=tLTDYaHhrZgC&dq=%22oceania%22+%22galapagos%22+%22south+pacific%22&pg=PA347 |url-status=live }}</ref> which would thus make Ecuador a [[List of transcontinental countries|transcontinental]] country under certain definitions. Ecuador is bigger than Uruguay, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana in South America. Ecuador lies between latitudes [[2nd parallel north|2°N]] and [[5th parallel south|5°S]], bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and has {{convert|2337|km|mi|abbr=on}} of [[coastline]]. It has {{convert|2010|km|mi|abbr=on}} of land boundaries, with [[Colombia]] in the north (with a {{convert|590|km|0|abbr=on}} border) and Peru in the east and south (with a {{convert|1420.|km|0|abbr=on}} border). It is the westernmost country that lies on the equator.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dowl|first1=Aimee|title=Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands|date=2010|page=53}}</ref> The country has four main geographic regions: * '''La Costa''', or "the coast": The coastal region consists of the provinces to the west of the Andean range – [[Esmeraldas Province|Esmeraldas]], [[Guayas Province|Guayas]], [[Los Ríos Province|Los Ríos]], [[Manabí Province|Manabí]], [[El Oro Province|El Oro]], Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas and [[Santa Elena Province|Santa Elena]]. It is the country's most fertile and productive land, and is the seat of the large [[banana]] exportation plantations of the companies [[Dole Food Company|Dole]] and [[Chiquita]]. This region is also where most of Ecuador's [[rice]] crop is grown. The truly coastal provinces have active fisheries. The largest coastal city is [[Guayaquil]]. * '''La Sierra''', or "the highlands": The sierra consists of the Andean and Interandean highland provinces – [[Azuay Province|Azuay]], [[Cañar Province|Cañar]], [[Carchi Province|Carchi]], [[Chimborazo Province|Chimborazo]], [[Imbabura Province|Imbabura]], [[Loja Province|Loja]], [[Pichincha Province|Pichincha]], Bolívar, Cotopaxi and [[Tungurahua Province|Tungurahua]]. This land contains most of Ecuador's volcanoes and all of its snow-capped peaks. Agriculture is focused on the traditional crops of [[potato]], [[maize]], and [[Quinoa|quinua]] and the population is predominantly Amerindian [[Quechua people|Kichua]]. The largest Sierran city is [[Quito]]. * '''La Amazonía''', also known as ''El Oriente'', or "the east": The oriente consists of the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon jungle]] provinces – [[Morona Santiago Province|Morona Santiago]], [[Napo Province|Napo]], [[Orellana Province|Orellana]], [[Pastaza Province|Pastaza]], [[Sucumbíos Province|Sucumbíos]], and [[Zamora-Chinchipe Province|Zamora-Chinchipe]]. This region is primarily made up of the huge Amazon national parks and Amerindian untouchable zones, which are vast stretches of land set aside for the Amazon Amerindian tribes to continue living traditionally. It is also the area with the largest reserves of [[petroleum]] in Ecuador, and parts of the upper Amazon here have been extensively exploited by petroleum companies. The population is primarily mixed Amerindian [[Shuar]], [[Huaorani]] and [[Quechua people|Kichua]], although there are numerous tribes in the deep jungle which are little-contacted. The largest city in the Oriente [[Nueva Loja|Lago Agrio]] in Sucumbíos. * '''La Región Insular''' is the region comprising the [[Galápagos Islands]], some {{convert|1000|km|mi|sp=us}} west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean. Ecuador's capital and second largest city is Quito,<ref>Carvajal, Ana María (10 de enero de 2019). «Quito se convirtió en la ciudad más poblada del Ecuador con más de 3 millones de habitantes en el 2018». El Comercio. Consultado el 11 de enero de 2019.</ref> which is in the province of [[Pichincha Province, Ecuador|Pichincha]] in the Sierra region. It is the second-highest capital city with an elevation of 2,850 meters. Ecuador's largest city is Guayaquil,<ref>«Quito es ahora la ciudad más poblada de Ecuador». El Telégrafo. 12 de enero de 2019. Archivado desde el original el 27 de marzo de 2019. Consultado el 12 de enero de 2019.</ref> in the [[Guayas Province]]. [[Cotopaxi]], just south of Quito, is one of the world's highest active volcanoes. The top of [[Chimborazo (volcano)|Mount Chimborazo]] (6,268 m, or 20,560 ft, above sea level), Ecuador's tallest mountain, is the most distant point from the center of the Earth on the Earth's surface because of the [[ellipsoid]] shape of the planet.<ref name=CIA>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ecuador/ |title=Ecuador |work=The World Factbook |access-date=18 August 2011 |archive-date=10 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110072816/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ecuador |url-status=live }}</ref> The Andes is the watershed divisor between the [[Amazon Basin|Amazon]] watershed, which runs to the east, and the Pacific, including the north–south rivers Mataje, Santiago, [[Esmeraldas River|Esmeraldas]], [[Chone River|Chone]], [[Guayas River|Guayas]], Jubones, and Puyango-Tumbes. ===Climate=== {{Main|Climate of Ecuador}} There is great variety in the climate, largely determined by altitude. It is mild year-round in the mountain valleys, with a [[humid subtropical climate]] in coastal areas and [[rainforest]] in lowlands. The Pacific coastal area has a [[tropical climate]] with a severe rainy season. The climate in the Andean highlands is [[Temperateness|temperate]] and relatively dry, and the Amazon basin on the eastern side of the mountains shares the climate of other rainforest zones. Because of its location at the equator, Ecuador experiences little variation in daylight hours during the course of a year. Both sunrise and sunset occur each day at the two six o'clock hours.<ref name=CIA/> The country has seen its seven glaciers lose 54.4% of their surface in forty years. Research predicts their disappearance by 2100. The cause is climate change, which threatens both the fauna and flora and the population.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2019/06/17/en-equateur-s-habituer-a-vivre-sans-glacier_1734406/|title=En Equateur, "s'habituer à vivre sans glacier"|access-date=20 November 2021|archive-date=20 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120010041/https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2019/06/17/en-equateur-s-habituer-a-vivre-sans-glacier_1734406/|url-status=live}}</ref> ===Biodiversity=== [[File:20180818-Pale-mandibled aracari at Bosque Protector Mindo – Nambillo.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|Ecuador is one of the most [[megadiverse countries]] in the world, it also has the most biodiversity per square kilometer of any nation, and is one of the highest [[endemism]] worldwide. In the image, a [[pale-mandibled aracari]] in the [[Mindo, Ecuador|Mindo]]-Nambillo Ecological Reserve.]] Ecuador is one of seventeen [[megadiverse countries]] in the world according to Conservation International,<ref name="Conservation International Site"/> and it has the most biodiversity per square kilometer of any nation.<ref name="Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir">[https://ecuadornoticias.com/plan-nacional-del-buen-vivir/ Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir] {{dead link|date=January 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Objective 4, Diagnostic, Section "La Biodiversidad y Patrimonio Natural", 2008 (Spanish)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/cbj2005/lac/pdf/518-001.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060323233748/http://www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/cbj2005/lac/pdf/518-001.pdf |archive-date=23 March 2006 |title=Ecuador – Biodiversity Conservation |publisher = USAID}}</ref> Ecuador has 1,600 bird species (15% of the world's known bird species) in the continental area and 38 more [[Endemism|endemic]] in the Galápagos. In addition to more than 16,000 species of plants, the country has 106 endemic reptiles, 138 endemic amphibians, and 6,000 species of butterfly. The Galápagos Islands are well known as a region of distinct fauna, as the famous place of birth to Darwin's [[Theory of Evolution]], and as a [[UNESCO]] World Heritage Site.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=1 |title=Unesco World Heritage |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=26 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901025658/https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=1 |archive-date=1 September 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ecuador has the first constitution to recognize the [[Rights of Nature|rights of nature]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Ecuador/ecuador.html |title=Ecuador's Constitution |publisher=Pdba.georgetown.edu |access-date=24 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217041712/http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Ecuador/ecuador.html |archive-date=17 February 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The protection of the nation's biodiversity is an explicit national priority as stated in the National Plan of "Buen Vivir", or good living, Objective 4, "Guarantee the rights of nature", Policy 1: "Sustainably conserve and manage the natural heritage, including its land and marine biodiversity, which is considered a strategic sector".<ref name="Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir" /> [[File:Giant tortoise of the galapagos islands.jpg|thumb|[[Western Santa Cruz tortoise]] in the [[Galápagos Islands]]]] As of the writing of the plan in 2008, 19% of Ecuador's land area was in a protected area; however, the plan also states that 32% of the land must be protected in order to truly preserve the nation's biodiversity.<ref name="Plan Nacional del Buen Vivir"/> Current [[List of national parks in Ecuador|protected areas]] include 11 national parks, 10 wildlife refuges, 9 ecological reserves, and other areas.<ref>Ministry of the environment of Ecuador, [http://www.ambiente.gov.ec/?q=node/59, Protected Areas] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325164618/http://www.ambiente.gov.ec/?q=node%2F59 |date=25 March 2012 }}</ref> A program begun in 2008, Sociobosque, is preserving another 2.3% of total land area (6,295 km<sup>2</sup>, or 629,500 ha) by paying private landowners or community landowners (such as Amerindian tribes) incentives to maintain their land as native ecosystems such as native forests or grasslands. Eligibility and subsidy rates for this program are determined based on the poverty in the region, the number of hectares that will be protected, and the type of ecosystem of the land to be protected, among other factors.<ref>Ministry of the environment, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110903214344/http://www.ambiente.gov.ec/?q=node%2F1064%2C Sociobosque Program]</ref> Ecuador had a 2018 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 7.66/10, ranking it 35th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref> Despite being on the UNESCO list, the Galápagos are endangered by a range of negative environmental effects, threatening the existence of this exotic [[ecosystem]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lemonick |first=Michael D. |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,983635,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204091815/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,983635,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 February 2013 |title=Can the Galapagos Survive? |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=30 October 1995 |access-date=26 June 2010 }}</ref> Additionally, [[Petroecuador|oil exploitation of the Amazon rainforest]] has led to the release of billions of gallons of untreated wastes, gas, and crude oil into the environment,<ref>{{cite news |title=European banks urged to stop funding oil trade in Amazon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/12/european-banks-urged-to-stop-funding-oil-trade-in-amazon |work=The Guardian |date=12 August 2020 |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=14 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914103303/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/12/european-banks-urged-to-stop-funding-oil-trade-in-amazon |url-status=live }}</ref> contaminating ecosystems and causing detrimental health effects to Amerindian peoples.<ref>{{cite news |title=Exclusive: European banks face indigenous calls to end Amazon oil trade |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-banks-exclusive/exclusive-european-banks-face-indigenous-calls-to-end-amazon-oil-trade-idUKKCN25809Z |work=Reuters |date=12 August 2020 |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008185259/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-banks-exclusive/exclusive-european-banks-face-indigenous-calls-to-end-amazon-oil-trade-idUKKCN25809Z |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=San Sebastian |first1=M. |last2=Hurtig |first2=A. K. |title=Oil Exploitation in the Amazon Basin of Ecuador: A Public Health Emergency |journal=Pan American Journal of Public Health |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=205–11 |year=2004 |doi=10.1590/S1020-49892004000300014 |pmid=15096294 |doi-access=free }}</ref> One of the best known examples is the [[Chevron Corporation|Texaco-Chevron]] case.<ref>{{cite news |title=How the Environmental Lawyer Who Won a Massive Judgment Against Chevron Lost Everything |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/01/29/chevron-ecuador-lawsuit-steven-donziger/ |work=The Intercept |date=29 January 2020 |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125222623/https://theintercept.com/2020/01/29/chevron-ecuador-lawsuit-steven-donziger/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This American [[Petroleum in the United States|oil company]] operated in the Ecuadorian Amazon region between 1964 and 1992. During this period, Texaco drilled 339 wells in 15 petroleum fields and abandoned 627 toxic wastewater pits. It is now known that these highly polluting and now obsolete technologies were used as a way to reduce expenses.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.raco.cat/index.php/rcda/article/view/280972/368631|title=Revista Catalana de Dret Ambiental|last=Pigrau|first=Antoni|date=27 July 2014|work=The Texaco-Chevron Case in Ecuador: Law and Justice in the Age of Globalization|access-date=14 September 2020|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414212915/https://www.raco.cat/index.php/rcda/article/view/280972/368631|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022 the supreme court of Ecuador decided that "under no circumstances can a project be carried out that generates excessive sacrifices to the collective rights of communities and nature." It also required the government to respect the opinion of Indigenous peoples about different industrial projects on their land.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Einhorn |first1=Catrin |title=Ecuador Court Gives Indigenous Groups a Boost in Mining and Drilling Disputes |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/climate/ecuador-indigenous-constitutional-court.html |access-date=6 February 2022 |agency=The New York Times |date=4 February 2022 |archive-date=6 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206102216/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/climate/ecuador-indigenous-constitutional-court.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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