Constitutional Court rulings on mining consultations worry investors, but give hope to environmentalists in Ecuador

In September 2020, the Constitutional Court (CC) approved the request for consultation regarding the prohibition of large and medium-scale mining activities in five water recharge zones located in the Cuenca canton. In 2021 the plebiscite was held and 80% of Cuencans said no to mining.

Then, on January 28 of this year, the CC made possible another referendum to stop the extraction of metals, this time in the Commonwealth of Chocó Andino (made up of the parishes of Nono, Calacalí, Nanegal, Nanegalito, Gualea and Covenant), in Pichincha. The groups will collect nearly 200,000 signatures to finalize the consultation, whose tentative date is February 5, 2023, when the sectional elections are held.

Although the results of the consultations will not affect the projects that are currently being executed, these failures of the CC give hope to the environmental groups. Sylvia Bonilla, a lawyer who has promoted the request for consultation in the Andean Chocó, considers the Court’s decision a victory, since tourism, agriculture and the production of panela prevail in this area.

“What we seek is to defend this sustainable production against a mining production that does not generate employment and that does not generate, in economic terms, revenues for the local population nor for the national population to the same extent that other areas do.“, it says.

Inty Arcos, technical coordinator of the Chocó Andino Commonwealth, affirms that the current pandemic has shown that these biodiverse spaces must be conserved in perpetuity for future generations. “In this area many families live from aviturismo (bird watching). Imagine having dynamite explosions, tractors where birds are seen. Birds are one of the species most sensitive to these changes. Allowing mining to develop would be terrible not only for ecosystems, but for local economies”, he indicates.

‘Guardians of the forest’ protect species and help science to conserve part of the Chocó Andino in Ecuador

However, these CC decisions worry investors, who affirm that with an unfavorable environment, the investments that are planned in this sector are at risk. Nathan Monash, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at Lundin Gold, a company that manages the Fruta del Norte mining project in Zamora Chinchipe, indicates that, although they respect the rulings of the CC, they do not understand the “logic” of the Court.

“The Constitution of Ecuador makes it very clear that natural resources are the responsibility of the national State. If Ecuador wants to make a decision on mining, it is a matter for the entire country. It is not the legal competence of a community to make a decision on behalf of all Ecuadorians”, he indicates. In addition, for the Executive, this type of decision can create “great challenges” in the future for the industry: “They are complex precedents for the development of new projects”.

These concerns are also reflected in the recent study “Economic impact of the mining sector between 2022 and 2052”, by the Ecuadorian Chamber of Mining (CME). According to the document, in the next three decades, the country’s mining exports would total $176,395 million and investments would amount to $21,398 million, as long as there is no “opposition” to the industry. From 2025 to 2052, 500,000 direct and indirect jobs would be created.

On the other hand, if the future scenario becomes complex, according to CME, investments would only reach $3.9 billion, exports would reach $35.71 billion and no new jobs would be generated.

Fruta del Norte almost doubled its gold production in 2021, 428,514 ounces of the metal were extracted from the mine located in Zamora Chinchipe

“The judges continue to reason based on the false dichotomy that one has to choose between mining and environmental conservation, when examples in the country and in the world show that with responsible practices, standards and controls, an activity can be carried out mining that preserves the natural heritage”, says the CME in relation to the consultation in Chocó.

However, Bonilla questions the quality of jobs generated by this industry, since they are “temporary”, while tourism or agriculture generate jobs “permanently”. According to the lawyer, oil has already shown that extractive activities do not change the realities of the communities, and that is why is “a story that mining is going to get us out of poverty”. (I)