Amazon Watch is concerned about recent violence and a death in Sápara territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon as well as threats to Sápara leaders opposing oil development.

DEFEND THE SÁPARA

Tragically, Anacleta Dahua, a Sápara woman and mother of eleven, disappeared in May and was later found dead in her garden. Much of the circumstances around her death remain unknown, even a month later. Yet local leaders report intimidation and threats from a handful of pro-oil Sápara who cooperate with the government.

Amazon Watch is calling on the Ecuadorian government to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the death of Anacleta Dahua, guarantee the safety of leaders such as Gloria Ushigua and her family who are speaking out, and cancel the oil plans for Sápara territory.

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Two new oil projects in the remote southern rainforests of Ecuador are putting the lives of environmental and rights defenders in danger. Driven by the country's need to pay off oil-backed loans to China, a new Amazonian oil boom is underway. Andes Petroleum, a Chinese state run firm recently signed deals for two oil blocks that overlap titled territory of the Sápara people. The Sápara are a small nation of 575 people, who received recognition from UNESCO for their culture and vulnerability. With the Ecuadorian government and company representatives seeking to illegally enter their territory, Sápara leaders have been speaking out against oil drilling and the project, and are now receiving threats over their efforts to defend their lives, land, and culture.

Please take action today!