Ecuador approves Protected Areas Law, despite Correa's opposition and the rejection of indigenous people.
Quito, July 10 (EFE).- The plenary session of Ecuador's National Assembly (Parliament) approved this Thursday the Organic Law for the Strengthening of Protected Areas with 80 votes in favor, a section of the Correísmo against (23 votes), the rejection of indigenous organizations and with serious doubts among environmentalists, who remain concerned about the ambiguity of the text.
The law establishes the creation of the National Protected Areas Service (SNAP) to manage the country's natural reserves. According to the government, the goal is to ensure environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, maintenance of ecological functions, sustainable management of these areas, and local development.
Fear of private company involvement was one of the main concerns of the opposition and activists, a theory dismissed by the ruling party during the bill's second debate.
Private interventionThe president of the Economic Development Commission and rapporteur of the bill, Valentina Centeno , stated that the text expressly prohibits the participation of private entities in protected areas.
Centeno dismissed the Correa supporters' criticisms as "myths" and argued that the law's intent is to prevent activities that exploit natural resources in these areas.
Diego Franco , vice president of the same commission, declared minutes before the debate began that the law would allow for the creation of jobs as park rangers in the towns located in these areas.
Criticism of the shortage of park rangers"Today, one park ranger has to protect an area the size of Quito. We're short on them—there are around 600 across the country. No one can take care of their protected areas like them (the people in the communities)," Franco said.
Another hot topic of debate revolved around the presence of police and military personnel from the Armed Forces on the ground, something that, according to Centeno, will only occur if illegal activities are detected in these areas.
"We truly hope that the Executive has listened to the demands of civil society and that the National Protected Areas Service has adequate and independent funding," said Gustavo Redín , president of the Ecuadorian Coordinating Body of Organizations for the Defense of Nature and the Environment ( Cedenma ), after learning of the approval.
Indigenous demands and constitutional challenges"We are concerned about the lack of environmental impact studies," Redín continued, as well as the vulnerability of the indigenous communities living in these areas.
Several indigenous organizations announced they will file a constitutional challenge before the Constitutional Court, arguing that the law approved by the legislature violates their rights and life, both in substance and form, and they demanded its annulment.
For these groups, the law contradicts various principles established in the 2008 Ecuadorian Constitution, such as the principle of non-regression of rights, the rights of nature, the plurinational nature of the State, and the collective rights of indigenous peoples.
"It ignores ancestral ownership of ancestral territories, essential for the physical, cultural, and spiritual survival of peoples and nationalities, over which protected areas have been unilaterally and without consultation, and transfers regulatory power to the executive branch, without democratic oversight or binding participation," the organizations stated.
Tension in the plenary sessionThe alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl by former Correísta Santiago Díaz also found its way into the chamber, where ruling party member Nataly Morillo harshly criticized the opposition for having him in their ranks and asked the president of the Children's Commission, Viviana Veloz (RC), how she would handle the case.
Veloz, in a raised and angry voice, defended her party's decision to expel Díaz and acknowledged having been a victim of sexual abuse as a child.
Furthermore, during the debate, a group of Correa-supporting assembly members decided to leave the plenary session before the voting began.
The clash between the ruling party and the opposition occurred just hours after the resignation of Assemblywoman Jhajaira Urresta from the Correa administration. Urresta lost an eye during the 2019 wave of protests and accused the leader of the Citizens' Revolution (RC) party of calling her a "shitty one-eyed woman." EFE
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Photograph: EFE/ Daniela Brik/ARCHIVE
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