We all need to do our bit to save the rainforests, as they are super important to all life on the planet. They create so much oxygen to help keep us alive. The trees also use carbon dioxide, thereby reducing global warming. The Amazon Rainforest is the biggest in the world, but destruction happens at a faster rate each year. Luckily, people are starting to take notice and do something about its destruction. The latest people to do so are an Amazon tribe. The Waorani people are native to Ecuador and have lived there for centuries. In recent years, they have been fighting a legal battle against big oil that nobody thought they could win.
The Ecuadorian government was planning to drill for oil over an area of seven million acres of rainforest. However, the Amazon tribe who live in Pastaza, an area that would have been affected, has put an end to this.
They have stalled the auction of the area, which 16 oil blocks would have been put there. What’s more, they have protected half a million more acres of their territory from potential drilling.
A spokesperson for the Waorani of Pastaza, the Amazon tribe in question, Oswando Nenquimo, made a statement.
“Today we have protected our forest from oil drilling; we have protected our water from contamination; we have protected our children from sickness. This is a legal precedent for indigenous rights,
“But the fight is far from over. The government will appeal because they still want the oil beneath our land. Indigenous Nations across the Amazon and the world must band together to protect our homes.”
This ruling is important for the safety of the rainforest, the preservation of the environment, and the rights of native peoples.