“El mapa es poder”
Participatory mapping and the historic legal victory for the Waorani in Ecuador
By: Alex Yule
For over 50 years, the Waorani of Ecuador have fought the exploitation of their traditional territories. This year, the Waorani won a historic legal victory, in part due to extensive participatory mapping efforts undertaken with partners Amazon Frontlines and Digital Democracy. I was lucky enough to witness their victory, and the power of community mapping efforts, firsthand.
I stood to give my knees a break, almost knocking over a wooden spear perched precariously against the wall of the courtroom. We huddled in a sweltering windowless room, straining to understand the Judge’s courtroom Spanish over the murmurs of the crowd, never really sure whether each technical point was for or against us. Then, as hour four of the one-hour hearing progressed to five, the mood began to shift. Brian, the in-house counsel for Amazon Frontlines, broke into a grin between furious keystrokes on his laptop. The whispers of the crowd grew louder.
A fight for generations
For decades the Waorani, and other tribes living in this eastern region of the Ecuadorian Amazon (known as “El Oriente”) have fought to preserve their land and culture against encroachment by a host of outside forces: from oil companies to missionaries; from illegal settlers to the Ecuadorian government itself. This latest threat is an attempt by the government to sell oil rights for some the last remaining oil-free, pristine areas of Waorani territory, along the headwaters of the Curaray River.
Oil Block 22 cuts through the heart of Waorani territory. It is one of dozens of sectors created by the Ecuadorian government to carve up Amazonian territory and auction off extraction rights to international companies. In February, the Waorani filed a lawsuit against the government; the suit showed how the Government hadn’t followed their own rules requiring “free, prior and informed consent” from all communities in the region affected by the auction.
“Mitch Anderson, the founder of Amazon Frontlines, a non-governmental organization (N.G.O.) that works with the Waorani and other indigenous groups on sovereignty and environmental issues, said that the consultations were treated as a box that needed to be checked off, rather than as a serious discussion with the community about the impact of introducing oil extraction into the forest lands and rivers where they hunt and fish.” — Rachel Riederer, writing in The New Yorker
“El mapa es poder”
A room full of volunteers from the Kofan community of Sinangoe gathered to learn about how to use maps as a tool in their efforts to defend their traditional lands. Young Kofan leader, Alex Lucitante, was sharing what he had learned about the Waorani’s mapping efforts. “El mapa es poder,” he said, “maps are power.” He explained how for generations, maps — and the lines drawn upon them — have been wielded by conquerors, “explorers,” the state, and corporations to assert claim over territories. But now, with the democratization of mapping technology, more and more local communities are harnessing maps to challenge those in power using their own tools: maps and the courts.
For the past four years the Waorani and the wider Alianza Ceibo alliance of four indigenous tribes, including the Kofan, have worked with Digital Democracy and Amazon Frontlines to map their territories. It was these maps that proved to be key evidence in the Waorani’s legal battle. Not only did they provide spatial context for the communities and the overlapping oil blocks; the maps were also used to help illustrate the Waorani’s interwoven environmental, social, cultural, historical and spiritual relationships with the land.
When juxtaposed with the government’s maps of oil block boundaries, these detailed maps embedded with the knowledge and stewardship of generations helped the court understand the perspective of the Waorani:
“The maps also helped the court realize that the imagined lines generated by the State when it creates petrol and other resource blocks, are just that, imaginary, and have no reality for the indigenous communities.” — María Espinosa, the Waorani’s lawyer from Amazon Frontlines
“Putting mapping technology in the hands of our communities”
The Amisacho complex sits on the edge of Lago Agrio, a bustling oil town eight hours by bus from Quito known mostly as both a gateway to the Amazon, and the site of famous environmental catastrophes at the hands of oil companies.
For 4 days, I worked with Aliya Ryan, of Digital Democracy, to train mapping teams from the Waorani and Kofan communities on various participatory mapping techniques and technologies, including Mapbox Studio and QGIS. Digital Democracy, one of Mapbox’s long-time partners, is a pioneer building technology with communities to defend their rights.
Digital Democracy has developed a powerful platform called Mapeo that allows communities to collect data using mobile devices, sync that data together and load it into a desktop application powered by the iD OpenStreetMap editor for processing and visualization. This allows communities to map out territories of any size without internet access or expensive equipment. The team is now focused on training community mapping leaders, like Oswando Nenquimo, to do more with that data using tools like QGIS, Mapeo, and Mapbox Studio. Unlocking the power of more advanced tools and techniques broadens the stories the team can tell, from the community to the courtroom and global press.
It was helpful to understand the potential for a mapping program that doesn’t require a connection to internet — something really useful in our communities that are far from roads. It’s important that we can receive these kinds of trainings because the Ceibo mapping program is all about putting mapping technology in the hands of our coordinators and communities. - Oswando Nenquimo, Director of the Waorani Mapping Project
Victory, and victory upheld
The Judge’s monotone rose only slightly as she read the verdict. On almost every point she sided with the Waorani on a case that they had been fighting since 2012. The crowd embraced as the news traveled through translated whispers.
The elders forming the plaintiff panel began to chant, ancient words of defiance and solidarity echoing through tears of joy and disbelief. The crowd rose, linked arms, and danced, soon joined by the many supporters waiting just outside. Jubilant and defiant, the dancing moved through the halls of justice to the steps out front. There, they were joined by dozens of allies from neighboring tribes and communities, dressed in their traditional traje.
“The judge, during her five hour ruling, gave examples of how the government had failed, again and again, to understand the context that the Waorani live within; failed to understand their ancestral and spiritual relationship to territory and invoked language and terminology that was incompatible with their worldviews and cosmology. In short she systematically showed how the consultation had been neither properly free, prior, nor informed, as required by law, and that it contravened international indigenous rights conventions and declarations subscribed to by the Ecuadorian Constitution.”—Digital Democracy blog post
Tribal leaders young and old celebrated the victory and expounded its importance. Maria, the Waorani’s lead counsel, warned that the fight was not over. On April 26, the Waorani team won a preliminary victory, but the Government quickly appealed the decision. Several tense weeks later, the court reconvened, and deliberated once again. After a tense hearing, the three judge panel issued its final verdict in early July in favor of the Waorani of Pastaza:
“The appellate court’s verdict clearly confirms that the Waorani have the right to decide over their lives, their territory and their future,” said Lina Maria Espinosa, lawyer for the Waorani from Amazon Frontlines. “And it shows that the Ecuadorian government has been systematically violating that right for decades. This is a precedent for Ecuador and the world.” — Intercontinental Cry
Mapping the Future
For the Waorani, and the rest of the Alianza Ceibo, the fight is not over and the mapping must continue. The team is already creating new mapping processes that will communicate their vision of sustainability, in contrast to state-promoted models of development. And for many other tribes, the mapping work needed to fight for legal protections of their territories — and through it, their very existence — is just beginning.
I’m proud to be at Mapbox supporting Digital Democracy, Amazon Frontlines, and Alianza Ceibo and thankful to be a part of such important work, with such talented teams. The implications of this work stretch from the local and regional, protecting culture, land, and identity, to the global as we struggle to save our planet from an evolving climate crisis.
“This victory is for my ancestors. It’s for our forest and future generations. And it’s for the whole world,”
— Nemonte Nenquimo, Waorani Leader
Lend your support:
- Sign the Waorani petition.
- Write open source code with Digital Democracy.
- Donate to Digital Democracy.
- Donate to Amazon Frontlines.
For more on how Mapbox is supporting indigenous communities and organizations to document, protect, and manage their lands and cultural resources, get in touch with the Mapbox Community team.
Alexander D. Yule - Sales Engineer - Mapbox | LinkedIn
“El Mapa es Poder” was originally published in Points of interest on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.