In August 2023, the population of Ecuador voted through a national referendum to halt all current and future oil extraction in Yasuní National Park.
Soon after the referendum, Global Greengrants Fund spoke to Esperanza Martínez from grantee partner Acción Ecológica to learn more about the referendum—both the years of collective organizing that lead up to it, and what it means for climate organizing in the region and internationally.
In recent years, Global Greengrants Fund has supported multiple organizations, including Acción Ecológica, Colectivo YASUNIDOS, and Goldman Prize winner Nemonte Nenquimo of the Ceibo Alliance, all of whom participated in the broader coalition that made this referendum possible. Yasuní National Park, which covers more than 2.5 million acres of land, is one of the most critically biodiverse areas of the Amazon rainforest. It was designated a world biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1989, and it is a home for Indigenous Peoples like the Tagaeri and Taromenani, who have lived there in voluntary isolation for hundreds of years.
Despite how critical the park is both regionally and globally, the State of Ecuador has continued the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) 43 oil block exploitation inside the park since 2016, and several other drilling projects, all of which have threatened the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples, led to deep biodiversity loss, and contributed massively to global rises in temperature and global dependence on fossil fuels.
The referendum was the result of decades of work by both Indigenous movements in the region and environmental activists, especially urban youth movements. In the 2010’s, government officials and businesses in the region set out to declare a portion of Yasuní National Park an area of “national interest” because of the economic potential of oil drilling in the area. “Normally the constitution would’ve said ‘no way’ [to oil drilling in Yasuní],” says Esperanza Martínez. “But this ‘national interest’ label might’ve given them the green light.” Those behind the push for a “national interest” label shared fraudulent maps that erased the existence of isolated Indigenous communities in Yasuní. “After this initial deceit that allowed the declaration of national interest, several organizations that opposed the extraction of Yasuní’s crude oil rallied together,” said Martínez. They decided to petition for a citizens’ referendum that would put a stop to drilling in Yasuní.
Although initially the organizers had collected enough signatures, several administrations blocked the referendum for a decade by focusing on tiny infractions in the petition like the color of the ink used or the order of first and last names. A legal battle ensued, forcing Indigenous organizations to prove that the reasons given for the dismissal of signatures were invalid, until finally, in 2023, the Constitutional Court concluded that participation rights had been violated and ordered the referendum to be carried out. “This isn’t just about upholding the right to participate in the consultation but ensuring we have the power to truly seek justice and undo what was constructed unlawfully,” says Martínez. “This gave the consultation a hell of a punch, making it a process with a deep sense of justice.”
Organizers campaigned with people across Ecuador leading up to the referendum. Instead of running one centralized national campaign, organizers entrusted people who were based in cities like Guayaquil and Quito, as well as individual provinces, to tailor tactics and messaging for different geographic audiences. This helped organizers to more effectively reach different communities with different cultures and economic and political contexts. Organizers also created social media campaigns using hashtags like #SíAlYasuní and #YesToYasuni that helped create national and international momentum around the importance of ending oil drilling in Yasuní. “I think the key thing about the campaign is that it was decentralized and very street-oriented,” says Martínez. “Social media were activated quite a bit, but there was a balance between actions on the street and actions online.”
After just over a month of campaigning with people across Ecuador, in August 2023, the referendum succeeded— Ecuadorians voted to halt the development of all new oilwells in Yasuní National Park. The referendum made Ecuador one of the first countries in the world to set limits on natural resource extraction through a democratic vote. Citizens supported the referendum even knowing that the country may face austerity as a result, since a significant portion of Ecuador’s revenue comes from extraction of oil. Yet citizens recognized that the Amazon is quickly approaching a tipping point and the drilling must stop. At the same time, in a second referendum, citizens in Quito also voted to block gold mining in the Chocó Andino, a sensitive highland biosphere near the capital city. These enormous successes show the effectiveness of supporting long-term grassroots initiatives to bring decisive change. They show that it is important not just to give one-off grants to one group working on a particular campaign, but to disperse funds among many groups involved, and to commit to supporting them long-term.
Challenges still remain as organizers work to ensure the government complies with the referendum’s decision, which has become increasingly difficult as violence and turmoil within Ecuador has lead the government to prioritize the country’s economic stability. Still, the moment was a huge win for climate movements around the world and an incredible example of the power that movements have to galvanize millions of people into action against extraction. “In some way, this news came as a breath of fresh air,” Martínez said, “suggesting that it’s still possible to work hands-on with people and foster these movements through active participation. In its own right, Yasuní has become a beacon for these battles for a just transition that honors both nature and the rights of indigenous communities.”