“Indigenous Peoples Fight for Justice a Year After Devastating Oil Spill”, 08 April 2021

...Hundreds of Ecuadorian Indigenous people took to the streets of the Amazonian town of Coca...to demand justice for the ongoing impacts of the country’s largest oil spill in recent history. A full year after 672,000 gallons of crude oil and fuel spilled from the country’s two major pipelines into the Coca and Napo rivers, there is still no comprehensive remediation nor redress for the 27,000 Kichwa Indigenous peoples affected. Amazon Watch’s team in Ecuador, alongside coalition partners, has been leading advocacy campaigns and maintaining pressure on the government and big banks financing the trade of this toxic commodity. The team is also supporting the communities seeking justice through technical assistance and legal strategy for the lawsuit, providing media support, and direct funding to affected communities...They stopped in front of the courthouse to denounce a recent decision from the appellate court in March that rejected a legal action brought by the communities seeking emergency relief and remedy for the violations of their right to health, a clean environment, and the rights of nature. The action also called for pipeline operators to be held accountable for gross negligence in failing to prevent the spill. OCP and Petroecuador ignored repeated warnings and geological data that showed that the regressive erosion from a nearby dam had made the riverbanks unstable and compromised the pipeline infrastructure...“After contaminating our rivers and our territories, there has been complete impunity for the companies and government agencies responsible,” said Jipa...