Government begins the process to dismantle oil operations in Yasuní, asks court for guidance

The government on Tuesday submitted its plan to end oil production in Yasuní National Park to the Constitutional Court. In a prepared statement, President Daniel Noboa asked the court to review the plan to dismantle operations at the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) field. “We are requesting the court to follow-up on its favorable opinion on the popular consultation by providing guidance as we begin to execute the plan.”

An oil production facility in the Yasuní National Park.

In the August 2023 elections, 59% of voters approved a proposal to end oil production at ITT to protect the natural environment of Yasuní. In its ruling accepting the voters’ decision, the court instructed the government to begin the dismantling process by the end of August 2024.

Some biologists have called Yasuní the most bio-diverse area on earth.

In his statement, Noboa asked the court to “rigorously review the actions implemented by the government to comply with the electoral decision, and to evaluate the possible mechanisms to overcome the challenges identified in the process and in all subsequent steps to comply with the popular will.”

The Yasunidos Collective, the environmental group that sponsored the referendum question, and indigenous communities living in and near Yasuní, have accused the government of foot-dragging in shutting down oil production. As late as last week, the Yasunidos appealed to the United Nations for assistance to recognize the vote. In its appeal, the Yasunidos accused the government of “a flagrant breach of the popular mandate.” It also said called Finance Minister Juan Carlos Vega’s claim that it would take three to five years to complete the work “outrageous and unacceptable.”

On Monday, about fifty members of the Waorani indigenous community gathered at the executive government building in Quito, demanding “rapid action to comply with the popular will,” threatening to take their case to the UN’s Intenational Court of Justice.

On May 8, the government created an executive committee to begin work on the “progressive and orderly” withdrawal of all activity at the ITT production site. At the time, Noboa and Vega said closure of the block created an “unprecedented situation in the oil industry” and said the process could not be completed in one year.