Ecuador Constitutional Court Case: rights of the Piatúa River

Summary

In 2019, the Judiciary confirmed the sentence issued by the Criminal Unit of Pastaza in Ecuador establishing the violation of the approval of the environmental license of the Genefran S.A. hydroelectric project in the Piatúa River. The court based its decision on the right to prior consultation of the original people of Kichwa nationality Ponkicsc and Santa Clara and the violation of the rights of nature established in the Constitution of Ecuador. The affected areas extend to the Sacred Basin of the Piata, the Sacred Basin of the Anzu, which for the Kichwa communities are sacred places; “in the rocks are the spirits of the community, being the river a living element, land, and water are humanized in the indigenous worldview.” In June 2020, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court selected this case to make binding jurisprudence regarding whether environmental licenses granted by the state are sufficient to guarantee rights of nature.