In Search of Dialogue? Oil Companies and Indigenous Peoples of the Ecuadorean Amazon

Abstract

ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, the oil development agenda has been influenced by the neo-liberal economic thought, with its emphasis on the virtues of private enterprise. This emphasis has, however, combined with a greater attention to environmental issues. Many private sector representatives have expressed their commitment to the principle of environmental and social responsibility, which, at the turn of the millennium, is supposed to moderate the unrelenting corporate search for profits. The analysis of the oil development in the Ecuadorean Amazon suggests though that this commitment is uneven and, overall, rather weak. More meaningful government and community participation are needed to make it effective. Without improved government regulations and increased community pressures, the corporate principle of environmental and social responsibility is likely to remain in the realm of public relations, legitimizing corporate presence in environmentally fragile indigenous territories, but producing few tangible results. In addition, more thought should be given to the nature of indigenous claims with regard to oil development. While environmental protection is an important issue, even more so is the need for sustainable income-generation projects that would allow indigenous peoples to alleviate their subsistence crisis.