Spatial expansion of the oil frontier and environmental conflicts in Ecuadorean Amazon

Università degli Studi di PadovaUniversità degli Studi di Padova

PhD Student: Eugenio Pappalardo Supervisor: Dr. Massimo de MarchiDipartimento di Geografia “G. Morandini”

Dottorato in Geografia Umana e Geografia Fisica

Research Path

• investigating the human-environment interaction within the MTF biome in the Ecuadorean Amazon in f(t) and f(s) • mapping the modernizing processes for substituon of land cover• investigating the environmental conflicts (multi-actor, multi-scale)• evaluating the biodiversity conservation and local development projects

• geographical approach • quantitative and qualitative research methods• GIS and Remote Sensing analysis• ground truth

General Objectives

The Amazon Basin

deforestation rate: 2 milions ha/year (Myers, 2004)

hydrographic basin: 7 million km2

flow rate: 100-300.000 m3/srainfall: 2000-4000 mm/year

TERRITORIAL PROCESSES IN AMAZON

Modernizing territorializations:

- Exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves

- Large scale agriculture activities

- (il)legal wood extraction activities

Based on terrestrial communication infrastructuresLocal territorializations:

- traditional agriculture activities- community based ecosystem managementBased on hydrografic basins

global actors

local actors

YasuniBiosphereReserve(Unesco, 1989)

Fonte: www.yasunigreengold.org

Study site

• Local communities

• Oil blocks

• Protected areas

• Waorani Indigenous reserve

• Untouchble zone

study site

Spatial Expantion of Amazon Frontier

Extractive Industry (not renewable)

driveropening road (deforestation)

landcover change

geographical overlapping of different conflictual territories:Oil exploitation projects

Large scale agricultural activitiesBiodiversity conservation projects

Indigenous territories

agrarian colonization(non traditional activity)(colonos, agroindustry)

landuse change

opening road (deforestazione)

use of territory • petroleum colonization

• agrarian colonization

Parallel processes in f(t)

Convergence processes in f(s)

Footprint of territorial processes of substitution of land cover

territorial macro-models

Territorialization for “sampling”Territorialization for substitution

Yasuni Biosphere Reserve – Oil Production

Ecuador RAE StudySite

RBY

Oil blocks

75216 Km2

61543 Km2

38176 Km2 20246 Km2

Oil Wells 990 990 936 235

Pipe lines 2850 Km 1342 Km 1003 Km 315 Km

Oil fields No data 916 Km2 916 Km2 421.8 Km2

Oil Blocks

26.52% 58.2% 79.9% 79.8%

EcuadorOil Blocks: 75216 Km2

Oil wells: 990

Polidotti: 2850 Km

Campi petroliferi: dato

assente

Regione Amazzonica EcuadorianaOil Blocks: 61543Km2

Oil wells: 990

Pipe lines: 1342 Km

Oil fields: 916 Km2

Study SiteOil Blocks: 38176 Km2

Oil wells: 935

Pipe lines: 1003 Km

Oil Field: 916 km2

Environmental impacts on water bodies

Oil production water: Oil industry Amazon Region: 217.741 barrels (Ni, Al, Pb, V; organic compounds; salty water)(Ni, Al, Pb, V; organic compounds; salty water)

PAHs in the rivers:

Concentration 1000 ppmConcentration of salts: 31 g/ltWater samples taken far away from the oil wells: 10.6 mg/lt PAHs

Rio Napo basin: PAHs [C] 100-10.000 times higher than EPA limits

Environmental impacts on water bodies

Oil spill from pipeline (fieldwork, Dayuma Community, 2010) – COORDINATES: 0°39’8.10’’S – 76°51’48.76’’W

Texaco toxic pit – Lago Agrio (fieldwork, 2010)Coordinates: 0°38’10.66’’S – 76°20’26.54’’W

Impacts on health of the local communitiesCancer is the main cause of death.

(32%, 4 times higher then national average.)

50,5% skin infections 46,6% micosys 17,8% headhake16,4% respiratory problems 5,5% alergies reactions2,7% problems to kidney

Materials and methods• spatially explicit approach• quantitative and qualitative data• georeferenced photos• georeferenced interviews

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Oil toxic pits (San Carlos, 2010)

Oil pumps, GPS survey (Via Pindo, 2010)Oil spill, (Dayuma, 2009)

MS Channel, QuickBird, 2003)

The Auca Road

• road extension (1985-1986): from 1830 to 7250 (400% rate)

• every linear km = 120 ha

deforestation

One of the 14 mayor deforestation fronts at global level (Myers, 2000)

(Sierra, 2006)

AR

EA

DI

ST

UD

IO Ecuadorean Amazon Region

GPS SURVEYM

AT

ER

IAL

S A

ND

ME

TH

OD

S

GPS device: garmin 62s (ext. ant)error: 4-6 mt on the roads (90%)

10-15 mt under canopy (10%)

transports:

• agility and handiness• finest spatial resolution• spatial evolution

canoa

enduro moto

• autoctonous indigenous communities (Quechua, Wuaorani)• access to Yasuni Biosphere R.

ParticipatoryGIS (PGIS)

• acquiring of cartography on the field• participation in the GPS survey• sharing of all the geographical information• participative ground truth

• participatory approach in collecting, processing and managing data• access to geodata and technology• social learning • community empowerment• conflict management

(Rambaldi, 2004; Chambers, 2006)

“Truckble”

GIS ANALYSIS Km lineari

Total km 1980

MAE tracks (2009) 280

GPS survey 381

expansion 101

Rilievo GPS:• paved roads: 55%

• unpaved roads: 30%

• viable roads: 15%

FIR

ST

RE

SU

LT

– G

IS A

NA

LY

SIS

Class action Aguinda vs Texaxo

Ecuadorean Cort convicted Texacto to pay $17 Billion for Oil Pollution in Amazon

for dumping billions of gallons of toxic oil waste into Ecuador’s rain forest since the 1970s.

February 2011

Indigenous market, barbecue of gusanos (El Coca, settembre 2010)

thanks for the attentioncontacts: eugenio.pap@gmail.com

skype: biorebelFB: biorebel