Biodiversity in Perspective: The Unappreciated Value of Cloud Forests
How biodiverse are cloud forests like Intag compared to one of the most biodiverse protected areas in the world? Carlos Zorrilla A significant portion of the efforts and funding allocated to conserving the planet’s biodiversity is, rightly, focused on protecting the Amazon’s biodiversity. And not only because of its plants and animals, but also because […]
Read MoreBRIEF HISTORY OF RESISTANCE TO MINING IN INTAG, ECUADOR (Updated February 2026)
Carlos Zorrilla I. Before continuing, a brief, and partial summary of the most relevant developments since I last updated the document. 2025. Besides the fact that in 2024 the Constitutional Court upheld a lower court ruling that the Llurimining mining project would violate the Constitutional Rights of Nature, and called for all mining activities to […]
Read MoreCODELCO TO ABANDON THE LLURIMAGUA MINING PROJECT
Codelco will be the third transnational to be forced to abandon the mining project Carlos Zorrilla, 2025 Santa Rosa Valley, Intag Mina de cobre, Collahuasi, desierto de Atacama Once it became official that Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, was abandoning the Llurimagua mining project in Intag (Ecuador) , it didn’t take long for […]
Read MoreFrogs, coalitions, and mining: Transformative insights for planetary health and earth system law from Ecuador’s struggle to enforce Nature’s rights
Author links open overlay panel Carlos Andres Gallegos-Riofrío abc, Mario A. Moncayo-Altamirano d , Andrea Terán-Valdez e, Gustavo Redin-Guerrero f , Carlos Varela d, Stephen Posner g, Amaya Carrasco-Torrontegui bch Abstract Pachamama, Mother Earth, faces a mass extinction threat. A radical transformation in human systems is essential, guided by equity and justice at local and global scales. This transformation must reconfigure the World-System’s power structures, impacting the ecosphere (ecological functions, biodiversity, and resource […]
Read MoreBRIEF HISTORY OF RESISTANCE TO MINING IN INTAG, ECUADOR (April 2024)**
The Twins Waterfall. Llurimagua Mining Concession. (Carlos Zorrilla) –Computer translated– I. Before continuing, a brief, and partial summary of the facts and achievements since the last update 2017: La Decoin was awarded by the United Nations with the 2017 Equatorial Prize for our work in favor of conservation and support for sustainable development. It is […]
Read MoreBREVE HISTORIA DE LA RESISTENCIA A LA MINERIA EN INTAG, ECUADOR** (abril 2024)
I. Antes de continuar, un breve, y parcial resumen de los hechos y logros desde la última actualización 2017: La Decoin fue premiada por las Naciones Unidas con el Premio Ecuatorial 2017 por nuestro trabajo en favor de la conservación y apoyo al desarrollo sustentable. Es el premio más importante del mundo que se otorga […]
Read MoreEcuador court upholds ‘rights of nature,’ blocks Intag Valley copper mine
by Liz Kimbrough on 31 March 2023 Communities in the Intag Valley of Ecuador have won a significant legal victory after a court ruled to halt copper mining in one of the world’s most biodiverse forests. The Imbabura Provincial Court ruled on March 29 that Chilean copper producer Codelco and Ecuador’s Empresa Nacional Minera (ENAMI EP) had […]
Read MoreTwenty-four reasons why Codelco shouldn’t mess with Llurimagua’s Intag mining project
Carlos Zorrilla updated March 2023) UPDATE MARCH 29, 2023: AFTER NEARLY 3 DECADES OF STRUGGLE, INTAG COMMUNITIES WIN! #25!! The Imbabura Provincial Court finally agreed with the communities and ruled against the Llurimagua mining project, revoking the environmental license and ordering a total cessation of all mining activity within the mining concession. The ruling was […]
Read MoreA tale of two frogs, six mining companies and much, much more
Carlos Zorrilla From the outside looking in, it’s easy to get the impression that it’s a black-and-white struggle of two critically endangered frogs versus a massive transnational copper mining project. In part, you’d be right. But it’s much more than that. It could be said that it all started in the 1980’s when a Belgian-government […]
Read MoreGlobal biodiversity hotspot faces mining threat Endangered amphibians, including a toad new to science, are at risk from planned copper extraction in Ecuador’s cloud forests Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Email to a friend By Kenny Taylor Published: April 4, 2022 at 7:00 am Part of the most wildlife-rich zone in the world […]
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