The constitutional Rights of Nature in Ecuador are facing their most critical existential threat since they were enshrined in 2008. President Daniel Noboa’s administration is systematically dismantling environmental institutions and safeguards to favor an aggressive, IMF-backed extractivist agenda.
As Natalia Greene, Director of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), warned regarding the historic constitutional defense of late 2025:
“The triumph of the ‘No’ [in the November 2025 referendum] was the clear response of a country that said no to authoritarianism, no to lies, and no to the abuse of power. Defending the Rights of Nature is about shifting a paradigm that views Nature as a resource, separate from humans, even though we are Nature.”
The timeline of the crisis:
-
August 2023 – The people’s mandate: 59% of Ecuadorians voted in a historic national referendum to stop oil extraction in the Yasuní ITT (Block 43). The Noboa administration used the “internal armed conflict” narrative as a pretext to delay decommissioning.
-
March 2024 – Militarization of mining: Under the guise of a national security narrative, the government militarized territories like Palo Quemado to force through corporate mining projects, violently criminalizing local water protectors.
-
April 2024 – Deregulation via decree: Using an energy crisis as a pretext, Noboa pushed Decree 248, fast-tracking strict environmental licenses into simple “administrative authorizations” and bypassing rigorous ecological impact studies.
-
March 2025 – International Court intervention: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ordered Ecuador to immediately halt operations in Yasuní’s Block 43 to protect the uncontacted Tagaeri and Taromenane Indigenous peoples. The government systematically ignored international deadlines.
-
July 2025 – Institutional downgrading & IMF debt: To satisfy IMF loan conditions, Noboa downgraded the Ministry of Environment into a sub-entity under a new, pro-extractive Ministry of Environment and Energy. Concurrently, the government reopened the national mining registry after a seven-year freeze, unlocking concessions over Indigenous lands without prior consultation.
-
November 2025 – The Constitutional “No”: Noboa called a nationwide referendum aimed at forcing a Constituent Assembly to gut the 2008 Constitution. In a massive victory for civil society, over 61% of voters soundly rejected the proposal.
-
February 2026 – Legislative enforcement: Defying the public’s referendum rebuke, the government passed the Organic Law for the Strengthening of the Strategic Mining and Energy Sectors, completely slashing traditional environmental licensing requirements for mining projects in vulnerable ecosystems.
-
April 2026 – The oil offensive in Pastaza: While over 60 countries gathered in Santa Marta, Colombia, to build a roadmap beyond fossil fuels, the Noboa administration activated the Sur Oriente and Subandina oil rounds. Without prior consultation, 11 new oil blocks now threaten nearly 3 million hectares of pristine rainforest belonging to the Sapara, Andwa, Achuar, Kichwa, Waorani, Shiwiar, and Shuar nations, bordering the Tagaeri Taromenane Intangible Zone (ZITT).
-
May 2026 – Contempt and resistance: Two months past the definitive IACHR compliance deadline, Indigenous federations confirm that out of 247 active oil wells in Yasuní, fewer than a dozen have been closed, exposing an open state defiance of international law.
Voices from the frontline:
During the 1st Conference for a Transition away from Fossil Fuels in April 2026, the seven Amazonian nations of Pastaza launched a blunt international denunciation:
“There can be no just energy transition while the Amazon continues to be sacrificed and the rights of Indigenous peoples are violated. We demand respect for our territories, for free, prior, and informed consent, and for life.”
Leonidas Iza, leader of CONAIE, echoes this systemic alarm:
“This government attacks not only our territories, it attacks the very legal foundation that protects life. They want to turn our forests and rivers into commodities for the global market, ignoring our constitutional sovereignty.”
Ecuador was the first nation on Earth to recognize Pachamama as a subject of rights. If these rights can be crushed here through executive decrees and judicial contempt, it sets a dangerous global precedent. Standing with the Ecuadorian Amazon is standing for the future of the planet.
Join the Collective Action: XII FOSPA in Ecuador
The defense of the Amazon will not be fought in isolation. This year, Ecuador will host the XII Pan-Amazon Social Forum (FOSPA) 16-22 August in Puyo, Pastaza, the most critical gathering space for Indigenous movements, climate activists, and Earth defenders from across the Amazon basin. In the face of the current administration’s extractivist aggression, this forum is our opportunity to build a collective, cross-border resistance. Your voice is crucial! You can register and join the movement at fospaecuador.com.
Nature is not a business!
