Latest news with #MinistryofEnergyandMines
The Hill
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Hill
In Ecuador, environmentalists worry Noboa is unwinding nation's green reputation
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — When Ecuadorians voted two years ago to block oil drilling in Yasuni National Park, it was a triumph for environmentalists seeking to protect one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. And it was in character for a country that was first to enshrine the 'rights of nature' in its constitution and is home to parts of the Amazon rain forest and the Galápagos Islands. But recent moves by President Daniel Noboa have alarmed environmentalists and Indigenous leaders who say the country's green reputation — and its protections for civil society — are unraveling. Noboa's administration has moved to scrap the country's independent Environment Ministry. It's pushing legislation ostensibly aimed at choking off illegal mining, but which critics fear will devastate nonprofits. The National Assembly — pressed by Noboa — approved a law last month allowing private and foreign entities to co‑manage conservation zones that critics say weakens protections and threatens Indigenous land rights. And Ecuador just signed a new oil deal with Peru that could accelerate drilling in sensitive areas. Natalia Greene, an environmental advocate with the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, said Noboa's decision to fold the Environment Ministry into the Ministry of Energy and Mines will speed up mining just as Ecuador is grappling with a surge in illegal gold mining tied to organized crime. She called it 'like putting the wolf in charge of the sheep.' 'The government's intention is very clear — to be a machine gun of extractivism,' she said. Noboa has defended the ministry moves and other changes as necessary to cut costs, reduce bureaucracy and address Ecuador's financial crisis. Officials argue that consolidating ministries will make decision‑making more efficient. Neither the Ministry of Energy and Mines nor Noboa's office responded to questions from The Associated Press. Indigenous rights at risk In July, Peru and Ecuador signed a deal for Ecuador's state oil company to sell crude directly to Petroperu and link its southern Amazon reserves to Peru's Norperuano pipeline, with drilling eyed for January 2026. Environmental groups say it could fast‑track drilling in sensitive areas while skirting safeguards and Indigenous consultation. Peru's Achuar, Wampis and Chapra nations denounced the plan in a public letter, saying it would gut long-standing protections that require communities be consulted before projects move forward on their lands. They warned the pipeline already averages 146 spills a year and that expanding it would be 'a grave threat to the Amazon and to Indigenous livelihoods.' 'They are going to violate all our rights to enter our territories and extract the resources they want,' said Nemo Guiquita, a Waorani leader with the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon. She said Indigenous communities fear a surge of oil and mining projects across ancestral lands, threatening both ecosystems and livelihoods. 'There will be a weakening of environmental protection,' she said. 'There will be a lot of deforestation, contamination of rivers and destruction of the ecosystem, which is vital for our existence as Indigenous peoples.' Ricardo Buitrón, president of the Quito‑based environmental group Accion Ecologica, noted that the changes come just months after Ecuadorians voted to keep oil in the ground in Yasuni, a decision the government has yet to fully enforce. 'We have gone back decades,' he said. 'A development model is being prioritized that does not care about protecting ecosystems, but about extracting natural resources to the maximum.' Fears that proposed law will harm non-governmental organizations The proposed law that has alarmed nonprofits is formally called the Organic Law for the Control of Irregular Capital Flows. But activists call it the 'anti-NGO' law, saying it could impose heavy burdens on nonprofits and force many to close. The measure applies to more than 71,000 organizations nationwide, giving them six months to re‑register with the government, submit detailed financial records and disclose foreign funding sources. The government says the law is needed to prevent money laundering and political destabilization. Critics warn it could instead silence dissent by placing organizations under sweeping controls. Noboa submitted the bill to the National Assembly on July 29, giving lawmakers until Aug. 28 to act before it automatically becomes law. 'This has been hard for us,' Guiquita said. 'Practically, Indigenous organizations live mostly from donations and NGOs. The government is weakening us in every space.' 'It represents a threat because they could dissolve us under any pretext,' Buitrón said. 'This reminds us of what we already lived through a decade ago, when they tried to shut down some organizations in the country.' Regional and global stakes Kevin Koenig of Amazon Watch, a U.S.-based nonprofit that advocates for Indigenous rights and environmental protection in the Amazon, said the country's changes are part of a wider rollback. 'We are seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, and threatening basic civil liberties like the freedom of speech and assembly,' he said. 'What it suggests is the massive expansion of oil and mining, particularly in the Amazon region.' Koenig said the changes send troubling signals ahead of COP30, the United Nations climate summit set for Brazil later this year. Similar trends are unfolding in Peru and El Salvador, where governments have limited environmental oversight, and in Brazil, where licensing for Amazon projects has been weakened. Mobilizing resistance Civil society groups are mobilizing against the changes. Greene said organizations have reactivated the Asamblea Nacional Socioambiental, a national coalition of environmental and social movements, and are planning legal challenges, demonstrations and appeals to international bodies. Many fear Ecuador's role as a global green pioneer is unraveling. 'Our only crime here has been protecting our territory, protecting our traditions, protecting our way of life,' Guiquita said. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
San Francisco Chronicle
04-08-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
In Ecuador, environmentalists worry Noboa is unwinding nation's green reputation
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — When Ecuadorians voted two years ago to block oil drilling in Yasuni National Park, it was a triumph for environmentalists seeking to protect one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. And it was in character for a country that was first to enshrine the 'rights of nature' in its constitution and is home to parts of the Amazon rain forest and the Galápagos Islands. But recent moves by President Daniel Noboa have alarmed environmentalists and Indigenous leaders who say the country's green reputation — and its protections for civil society — are unraveling. Noboa's administration has moved to scrap the country's independent Environment Ministry. It's pushing legislation ostensibly aimed at choking off illegal mining, but which critics fear will devastate nonprofits. The National Assembly — pressed by Noboa — approved a law last month allowing private and foreign entities to co‑manage conservation zones that critics say weakens protections and threatens Indigenous land rights. And Ecuador just signed a new oil deal with Peru that could accelerate drilling in sensitive areas. Natalia Greene, an environmental advocate with the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, said Noboa's decision to fold the Environment Ministry into the Ministry of Energy and Mines will speed up mining just as Ecuador is grappling with a surge in illegal gold mining tied to organized crime. She called it 'like putting the wolf in charge of the sheep.' 'The government's intention is very clear — to be a machine gun of extractivism,' she said. Noboa has defended the ministry moves and other changes as necessary to cut costs, reduce bureaucracy and address Ecuador's financial crisis. Officials argue that consolidating ministries will make decision‑making more efficient. Neither the Ministry of Energy and Mines nor Noboa's office responded to questions from The Associated Press. In July, Peru and Ecuador signed a deal for Ecuador's state oil company to sell crude directly to Petroperu and link its southern Amazon reserves to Peru's Norperuano pipeline, with drilling eyed for January 2026. Environmental groups say it could fast‑track drilling in sensitive areas while skirting safeguards and Indigenous consultation. Peru's Achuar, Wampis and Chapra nations denounced the plan in a public letter, saying it would gut long-standing protections that require communities be consulted before projects move forward on their lands. They warned the pipeline already averages 146 spills a year and that expanding it would be 'a grave threat to the Amazon and to Indigenous livelihoods.' 'They are going to violate all our rights to enter our territories and extract the resources they want," said Nemo Guiquita, a Waorani leader with the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon. She said Indigenous communities fear a surge of oil and mining projects across ancestral lands, threatening both ecosystems and livelihoods. 'There will be a weakening of environmental protection,' she said. 'There will be a lot of deforestation, contamination of rivers and destruction of the ecosystem, which is vital for our existence as Indigenous peoples.' Ricardo Buitrón, president of the Quito‑based environmental group Accion Ecologica, noted that the changes come just months after Ecuadorians voted to keep oil in the ground in Yasuni, a decision the government has yet to fully enforce. 'We have gone back decades,' he said. 'A development model is being prioritized that does not care about protecting ecosystems, but about extracting natural resources to the maximum.' Fears that proposed law will harm non-governmental organizations The proposed law that has alarmed nonprofits is formally called the Organic Law for the Control of Irregular Capital Flows. But activists call it the 'anti-NGO' law, saying it could impose heavy burdens on nonprofits and force many to close. The measure applies to more than 71,000 organizations nationwide, giving them six months to re‑register with the government, submit detailed financial records and disclose foreign funding sources. The government says the law is needed to prevent money laundering and political destabilization. Critics warn it could instead silence dissent by placing organizations under sweeping controls. Noboa submitted the bill to the National Assembly on July 29, giving lawmakers until Aug. 28 to act before it automatically becomes law. 'This has been hard for us,' Guiquita said. 'Practically, Indigenous organizations live mostly from donations and NGOs. The government is weakening us in every space.' 'It represents a threat because they could dissolve us under any pretext,' Buitrón said. 'This reminds us of what we already lived through a decade ago, when they tried to shut down some organizations in the country.' Regional and global stakes Kevin Koenig of Amazon Watch, a U.S.-based nonprofit that advocates for Indigenous rights and environmental protection in the Amazon, said the country's changes are part of a wider rollback. 'We are seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, and threatening basic civil liberties like the freedom of speech and assembly,' he said. 'What it suggests is the massive expansion of oil and mining, particularly in the Amazon region.' Koenig said the changes send troubling signals ahead of COP30, the United Nations climate summit set for Brazil later this year. Similar trends are unfolding in Peru and El Salvador, where governments have limited environmental oversight, and in Brazil, where licensing for Amazon projects has been weakened. Mobilizing resistance Civil society groups are mobilizing against the changes. Greene said organizations have reactivated the Asamblea Nacional Socioambiental, a national coalition of environmental and social movements, and are planning legal challenges, demonstrations and appeals to international bodies. Many fear Ecuador's role as a global green pioneer is unraveling. 'Our only crime here has been protecting our territory, protecting our traditions, protecting our way of life,' Guiquita said. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
04-08-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
In Ecuador, environmentalists worry Noboa is unwinding nation's green reputation
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — When Ecuadorians voted two years ago to block oil drilling in Yasuni National Park, it was a triumph for environmentalists seeking to protect one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. And it was in character for a country that was first to enshrine the 'rights of nature' in its constitution and is home to parts of the Amazon rain forest and the Galápagos Islands. But recent moves by President Daniel Noboa have alarmed environmentalists and Indigenous leaders who say the country's green reputation — and its protections for civil society — are unraveling. Noboa's administration has moved to scrap the country's independent Environment Ministry. It's pushing legislation ostensibly aimed at choking off illegal mining, but which critics fear will devastate nonprofits. The National Assembly — pressed by Noboa — approved a law last month allowing private and foreign entities to co‑manage conservation zones that critics say weakens protections and threatens Indigenous land rights. And Ecuador just signed a new oil deal with Peru that could accelerate drilling in sensitive areas. Natalia Greene, an environmental advocate with the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, said Noboa's decision to fold the Environment Ministry into the Ministry of Energy and Mines will speed up mining just as Ecuador is grappling with a surge in illegal gold mining tied to organized crime. She called it 'like putting the wolf in charge of the sheep.' 'The government's intention is very clear — to be a machine gun of extractivism,' she said. Noboa has defended the ministry moves and other changes as necessary to cut costs, reduce bureaucracy and address Ecuador's financial crisis. Officials argue that consolidating ministries will make decision‑making more efficient. Neither the Ministry of Energy and Mines nor Noboa's office responded to questions from The Associated Press. Indigenous rights at risk In July, Peru and Ecuador signed a deal for Ecuador's state oil company to sell crude directly to Petroperu and link its southern Amazon reserves to Peru's Norperuano pipeline, with drilling eyed for January 2026. Environmental groups say it could fast‑track drilling in sensitive areas while skirting safeguards and Indigenous consultation. Peru's Achuar, Wampis and Chapra nations denounced the plan in a public letter, saying it would gut long-standing protections that require communities be consulted before projects move forward on their lands. They warned the pipeline already averages 146 spills a year and that expanding it would be 'a grave threat to the Amazon and to Indigenous livelihoods.' 'They are going to violate all our rights to enter our territories and extract the resources they want,' said Nemo Guiquita, a Waorani leader with the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon. She said Indigenous communities fear a surge of oil and mining projects across ancestral lands, threatening both ecosystems and livelihoods. 'There will be a weakening of environmental protection,' she said. 'There will be a lot of deforestation, contamination of rivers and destruction of the ecosystem, which is vital for our existence as Indigenous peoples.' Ricardo Buitrón, president of the Quito‑based environmental group Accion Ecologica, noted that the changes come just months after Ecuadorians voted to keep oil in the ground in Yasuni, a decision the government has yet to fully enforce. 'We have gone back decades,' he said. 'A development model is being prioritized that does not care about protecting ecosystems, but about extracting natural resources to the maximum.' Fears that proposed law will harm non-governmental organizations The proposed law that has alarmed nonprofits is formally called the Organic Law for the Control of Irregular Capital Flows. But activists call it the 'anti-NGO' law, saying it could impose heavy burdens on nonprofits and force many to close. The measure applies to more than 71,000 organizations nationwide, giving them six months to re‑register with the government, submit detailed financial records and disclose foreign funding sources. The government says the law is needed to prevent money laundering and political destabilization. Critics warn it could instead silence dissent by placing organizations under sweeping controls. Noboa submitted the bill to the National Assembly on July 29, giving lawmakers until Aug. 28 to act before it automatically becomes law. 'This has been hard for us,' Guiquita said. 'Practically, Indigenous organizations live mostly from donations and NGOs. The government is weakening us in every space.' 'It represents a threat because they could dissolve us under any pretext,' Buitrón said. 'This reminds us of what we already lived through a decade ago, when they tried to shut down some organizations in the country.' Regional and global stakes Kevin Koenig of Amazon Watch, a U.S.-based nonprofit that advocates for Indigenous rights and environmental protection in the Amazon, said the country's changes are part of a wider rollback. 'We are seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, and threatening basic civil liberties like the freedom of speech and assembly,' he said. 'What it suggests is the massive expansion of oil and mining, particularly in the Amazon region.' Koenig said the changes send troubling signals ahead of COP30, the United Nations climate summit set for Brazil later this year. Similar trends are unfolding in Peru and El Salvador, where governments have limited environmental oversight, and in Brazil, where licensing for Amazon projects has been weakened. Mobilizing resistance Civil society groups are mobilizing against the changes. Greene said organizations have reactivated the Asamblea Nacional Socioambiental, a national coalition of environmental and social movements, and are planning legal challenges, demonstrations and appeals to international bodies. Many fear Ecuador's role as a global green pioneer is unraveling. 'Our only crime here has been protecting our territory, protecting our traditions, protecting our way of life,' Guiquita said. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
UPI
03-07-2025
- Business
- UPI
Criminal groups exploit Peru's small-scale mining registration program
Registered miners in Peru have had been given a deadline to submit documents, meet environmental and labor standards and transition to legal operations. But after four extensions, the process has failed to deliver many results. Photo by Tyna_Janoch/ Pixabay July 3 (UPI) -- The government of President Dina Boluarte has extended Peru's small-scale mining formalization program through December, even as doubts persist more than a decade after its launch and experts warn that criminal organizations have exploited the system. According to official figures from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, just 2,108 of the 86,000 miners enrolled in the Integral Registry for Mining Formalization, or REINFO, had completed the process as of November 2024 -- a rate of only 2.4%. REINFO was launched as part of a government effort to contain the unchecked growth of informal and illegal mining. It gave registered miners a deadline to submit documents, meet environmental and labor standards and transition to legal operations. But after four extensions, the process has failed to deliver lasting results. Energy and Mines Minister Jorge Montero said the situation could improve in the coming months. He noted that another 5% of registered miners are close to completing the formalization process, and added that the government aims to mediate agreements between concession holders and roughly 15,000 small-scale miners who are working informally on those sites. But experts say repeated deadline extensions have turned the program into a legal gray area that criminal groups exploit. "We're talking about a failed system by every measure," Mónica Muñoz-Nájar, an economist with the Red de Estudios para el Desarrollo, said in an interview with RPP. She pointed to the low rate of formalization and the expansion of informal mining. "Forty-four percent of the gold Peru exports comes from illegal mining, which has become more profitable than drug trafficking. It's estimated that illegal mining generates $12 billion a year," she said. One of the strongest criticisms of REINFO comes from the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy. Its president, Julia Torreblanca, said the registry has become a "shield for illegality" and that its indiscriminate extensions distort the market by protecting individuals who have no intention of following the law or meeting formalization requirements. A growing concern, however, is the infiltration of organized crime into informal mining zones operating under REINFO's protection. Organizations such as the Observatory of Illegal Mining and advocacy group DAR have warned that criminal networks use the registry to operate unregulated mining fronts, traffic illegal gold, transport chemical supplies and even facilitate human trafficking and forced labor. These warnings align with reports from the National Police, who have identified criminal networks in regions including Madre de Dios, Puno and La Libertad. Authorities say these groups use informal mining concessions to conceal a range of illegal activities, including fuel smuggling, arms trafficking and the export of gold to international markets. In early May, police reported the kidnapping and murder of 13 private security guards employed by a contractor linked to the Poderosa mining company in the Pataz region. Authorities said the bodies showed signs of torture and were found bound and unclothed -- a sign of the extreme violence used by criminal gangs tied to illegal mining. The case marked a critical moment in Peru, underscoring the violence and criminal networks that operate alongside illegal mining in the Andes and the direct threat they pose to people working in the region. A recent report from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru warns that illegal mining is one of the most destructive activities environmentally, socially and economically. It found that in regions like Madre de Dios, up to 50,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed. The state collected about $12,000 in taxes, compared with an estimated $565 million in extracted gold. Estimated tax evasion ranges from $85 million to $168 million.
Japan Today
08-06-2025
- General
- Japan Today
Peru restores Nazca Lines protection after backlash over mining risk
Peru's government has abandoned a plan that reduced the size of a protected area around the country's ancient Nazca Lines, it said on Sunday, after criticism the change made them vulnerable to the impact of informal mining operations. Peru's Culture Ministry in a statement said it was reinstating with immediate effect the protected area covering 5,600 square kilometers, that in late May had been cut back to 3,200 square kilometers. The government said at the time the decision was based on studies that had more precisely demarcated areas with "real patrimonial value". The remote Nazca region located roughly 400 km south of Lima contains hundreds of pre-Hispanic artifacts and its plateau is famous for the Nazca Lines, where over 800 giant desert etchings of animals, plants and geometric figures were created more than 1,500 years ago. UNESCO declared them a World Heritage site in 1994. A technical panel of government representatives, archaeologists, academics and members of international organizations, including UNESCO, will work together to build consensus on a future proposal for zoning and land use in the area, the Culture Ministry's statement said. According to figures from the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines, 362 small-scale gold miners operate in the Nazca district under a program to regularize their status. Authorities have previously conducted operations against illegal mining in the area. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
