Summary
In 2002, the Corporation for Energy Research began the San José de Tambo hydroelectric on the Dulcepambal river in the San Pablo de Amalí Community, San José del Tambo parish, Chillanes canton, Bolívar province, Ecuador. In 2005, the Ministry of the Environment approved an environmental license for the construction and operation of the project, which included requirements to meet with the community. The project was subcontracted to the Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of the hydroelectric plant. Community members protested the project and were arrested. In 2007, the Ombudsman’s Office made a pronouncement declaring that the Army Corps of Engineers will refrain from initiating any act that constitutes a violation of persons. Regional Human Rights Advisory Foundation requested precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protect the community’s integrity and leaders who were criminalized. The IACHR accepted the request. In 2008, the Constituent Assembly granted amnesty to the prosecuted community members. The project was suspended between 2008 and 2012. In 2012, the project’s construction began again. Over the next several years, community leaders presented protective action requests, which were denied. In 2015, the Dulcepamba River overflowed in the section diverted by Hidrotambo SA and undermined portions of the community, causing the destruction of 12 houses and killing 3 people. Community leaders Manuel Trujillo and Manuela Pacheco were tried for organized terrorism and were found innocent. In 2019, the Ombudsman’s Office and the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission CEDHU presented a protection action against seven state institutions and Hidrotambo, alleging the violation of both the rights of nature and the people who live in the community of San Pablo de Amalí. The action was rejected in the first and second instances. Later that year, Harold Burbano, guardian director of the Ombudsman’s Office, and Elsie Monge, legal representative of the Ecumenical Commission for Human Rights (Cedhu), presented before the Constitutional Court the extraordinary protection action against the judgment of the Provincial Court of Justice of Bolívar, which rejected a protective action. The Constitutional Court selected the case for the development of binding jurisprudence and as of mid 2022 was currently considering it.