Pastaza
Ecuador's largest province: 80% indigenous territory, 7 nations, best-preserved Amazon forests. 2024 oil auction threatens 8M acres; Sapara (50 remaining) lead resistance. By 2026, Constitutional Court ruling determines indigenous land rights reality.
Ecuador's largest province by area is 80% indigenous territory—and the best-preserved Amazon forests in the country. Seven indigenous nations (Achuar, Shiwiar, Kichwa, Waorani, Sapara, Andwa, Shuar) maintain autonomy across millions of hectares. The Sapara, once numerous, now count fewer than 50 full-ancestry members and 10 Saparoano speakers—UNESCO declared them Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2001.
President Noboa's "Hydrocarbon Roadmap" (2024) threatens this preservation. The oil auction affects 8 million acres across Pastaza and Morona Santiago, overlapping the entire territories of the Achuar and Sapara. On July 18, 2024, a hundred delegates from all seven nations demonstrated in Puyo demanding constitutional protection and prior consultation rights.
"Strengthening the autonomy of Indigenous peoples is key to the conservation of the Amazon rainforest." The women-led Sapara resistance against Andes Petroleum exemplifies this principle: Gloria Ushigua (President of Sapara Women's Association) and Rosa Dahua maintain "unwavering resistance" as spiritual and political leaders.
2026 trajectory: Constitutional Court Case No. 1296-19-JP determines whether prior consultation is genuine right or administrative formality. The oil auction either proceeds without consent or faces legal blockade. Pastaza becomes test case for whether 80% indigenous territory actually means indigenous control.