With 77 votes in favor and 70 against, the National Assembly of Ecuador approved the Organic Law for the Strengthening of the Strategic Mining and Energy Sectors on February 26, 2026.
The new legislation removes key environmental licensing requirements for mining projects. Critics warn that this weakens protections for ecosystems and Indigenous peoples by reducing environmental, social, and cultural safeguards in order to accelerate investment and advance Ecuador’s economic agenda, including commitments linked to agreements with the International Monetary Fund.
Why mining expansion in the Amazon matters
The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth and plays a critical role in regulating the global climate. Industrial and illegal gold mining in the region has already caused widespread deforestation, river contamination, and mercury pollution. Mercury — used to separate gold from sediment — contaminates waterways, accumulates in fish, and poses serious health risks to Indigenous and riverine communities.
Mining expansion also fragments intact forests, threatens wildlife, and opens remote territories to roads, logging, and illegal land grabbing. In many parts of the Amazon, mining corridors have become entry points for organized crime networks involved in illegal activities including gold trading. Because many proposed concessions overlap with Indigenous territories, mining projects often bring social conflict, violence, and pressures that undermine traditional governance systems and ways of life.
Concerns about rights and legal protections
Indigenous organizations warn that the law weakens constitutional protections and breaches Ecuador’s international commitments by reducing environmental oversight and undermining Indigenous peoples’ right to decide what happens on their ancestral territories.
Ecuador’s 2008 Constitution — globally recognized for granting legal rights to Nature — guarantees Indigenous peoples the right to free, prior, and informed consent, as well as the constitutional right to resistance when fundamental rights are at risk. The bill also conflicts with landmark rulings such as the 2022 Sinangoe decision and with international agreements including the Escazú Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
On February 24, in a statement signed in the Amazonian city of Puyo, the seven Indigenous nations of Pastaza — Achuar, Andwa, Kichwa, Shuar, Shiwiar, Sápara, and Waorani — rejected the bill and demanded that it be shelved. These nations have long defended their territories, which remain among the most intact forests in Ecuador and are essential for biodiversity conservation and climate stability.
In 2025, Amazon Frontlines warned that IMF-backed reforms and efficiency measures could come at the cost of fundamental rights and environmental protections. The organization noted that the elimination of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE) — and the transfer of its responsibilities to institutions tasked with promoting extractive industries such as mining and oil — effectively placed environmental oversight in the hands of the very sectors meant to be regulated.
Since the start of his presidential term, the government of Daniel Noboa has fast-tracked regulatory changes to advance its economic agenda with few constraints, in line with the International Monetary Fund-supported financial program. This alignment was reflected in the second review of Ecuador’s agreement with the Fund, published on July 18, 2025, in which the country committed to fiscal and structural reforms designed to attract private investment to “high-potential” sectors such as mining, hydrocarbons, and energy, while also promoting domestic capital market development and strengthening the financial system.
Mining and hydrocarbon concessions in Ecuador frequently overlap with Indigenous territories and some of the country’s best-preserved forests. For decades, Indigenous communities have demanded that their constitutional rights be upheld, including protections enshrined in the 2008 Constitution, which made Ecuador a global reference point by recognizing Nature as a subject of rights.
In the fourth review of Ecuador’s current agreement, dated December 18, 2025, the International Monetary Fund acknowledged the country’s efforts to “promote investment and growth in the mining sector,” noting that authorities committed to issuing regulations to reopen the mining cadastre by late June 2026, after its closure in 2018. The report also states that a new fiscal regime for the mining sector is being developed with technical assistance from the IMF.
By dismantling environmental safeguards and transferring oversight responsibilities to extractive-sector institutions, the new law deepens tensions between Ecuador’s economic development model and the protection of human rights, biodiversity, and the global climate.
