Texaco in Ecuador
TEXACO IN ECUADOR
When Texaco pulled out of Ecuador, it left behind catastrophic pollution that has been called "the Environmental Crime of the Century." Now the people of Ecuador's Amazon are demanding justice.
Ecuador's northeastern provinces are the site of an ongoing public health and environmental disaster. Lawyers representing 30,000 people in Ecuador have brought suit in the United States and Ecuador against ChevronTexaco, which they say dumped four million gallons a day of toxic wastewater over a 20-year period into unlined waste pits and streams. The oil company left 600 open waste pits and 339 wells behind when it stopped its operations, and over the many years of its operations spilled 16.8 million gallons of oil directly into the environment. This is six million gallons more than the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in Alaska in 1989.
According to the Amazon Defense Front, an Oxfam partner organization, the human and natural toll to this catastrophe is nothing short of disastrous.
The Amazon Defense Front (Frente de Defensa de la Amazona or FDA) has played a major role in transforming the affected communities from victims into committed, mobilized and empowered defenders of their own right to live in a safe environment. The FDA's commitment to these communities over many years has helped them demand fair compensation for the environmental damage and poor health they must endure. Oxfam America has supported the FDA throughout the process, providing funding for organizing activities and legal expenses as well as help with evaluations and strategic planning.
