Films on Forests and struggles against extractavism in Ecuador, Australia & Papua + Info share and meet-up.
Meet with members of the Rainforest Action Group and find out more about what is happening with Australian mining companies' dirty business in Ecuador.
Selection of short films about Ecuador, Papua and Australia. More details to be posted soon.
Drop in any time 2- 6pm. Bar 303, 303 High St, Northcote. By donation.
Proceeds go to the Legal campaign for the A'i Cofan people currently fighting to keep their land free of mining.
Since 2018, the Ecuadorian government has granted more than 52 mining concessions without consultation in the headwaters of the Aguarico, Cofanes and Chingual Rivers, affecting more than 30,000 hectares of primary forest. Most of these concessions are within the boundaries of the Cayambe-Coca National Park and home to the ancestral A’i Cofan people of Sinangoe.
This area is considered to be one of the most biodiverse region in Ecuador, with a high rate of endemism. It contains more than 650 species of birds, 50 species of mammals, more than 100 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 3,725 species of plants.
Despite its direct impact on the community, the rivers, the land and the Cofan way of life, the new mining claims were granted without any free, prior and informed consultation with Sinangoe. Miners have also been operating without environmental licenses or water permits and have been illegally mining outside of the concessions.
These actions are in direct conflict with the Ecuadorian Constitution which enshrines the Rights of Nature, and makes prior consultation mandatory when carrying out a project or intervention that directly affects an indigenous or tribal people (Article 6 of ILO Convention 169).
