Summary
On January 4 2026, the civil court of the Canton of Pujilí ruled in favor of a protective action filed against the Provincial Government of Cotopaxi and the Ministry of Environment, over the urgent protection of the habitat site of the Jambato Harlequin toad from being altered, destroyed, or diminished by the construction of the Ambato-Guambeine-Angamarca highway in the Angamarca parish.
The Jambato Harlequin toad is a critically endangered species of frog that is included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Its exclusive habitat is the Angamarca area of Cotopaxi, where the only known wild population is found. It was declared extinct in 2004 after and then rediscovered in 2016.
The plaintiffs argued that the road project endangers the only area registered as a habitat for the Jambato Harlequin toad species (Atelopus ignescens) and thus poses an imminent and serious threat to the inalienable constitutional rights of this species, as enshrined in Articles 10, 71, 72 and 73 of the Ecuadorian Constitution, including it’s right to state protection (Article 73), its right to existence (Article 71), and its right to restoration, such as the mitigation of environmental threats (Article 72).
Judge Milton Gustavo Hernández Andino (civil court in the Canton of Pujilí) ruled that the purpose of Precautionary Measures is to prevent or stop the threat or violation of the rights recognized in the Constitution; therefore, the court ordered a suspension of any activity related to the construction of the Ambato-Guambeine Road Project in the Angamarca parish, or any other activity carried out in the area with heavy machinery by the Provincial Government of Cotopaxi or any other public or private institution/person. Additionally, the judge ruled that a management and protection plan for the Jambato Harlequin Toad, guaranteeing the rights of this species, must be determined prior to the start of any road construction activity in the area of the population of this frog species.
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Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/ecuador-court-case-rights-of-the-jambato-harlequin-toad-in-pujili-canton/.
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