- The extractive plan infringes on the collective rights of indigenous peoples, violates international agreements, and undermines the state’s responsibility to protect biodiversity.
- The Indigenous territories at risk cover an area larger than El Salvador.
- A report by the Ombudsman’s Office on Block 22 acknowledges that the oil extraction plan infringes on rights due to early-stage planning without consultation
Quito, Ecuador – November 6th, 2026.- Amazon Frontlines warns indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon, as well as the national and international communities, of the serious risks posed by the Ecuadorian government’s plan to offer 14 new oil blocks in the Southeast Round up for bid between December 2026 and January 2027.
Of the 14 blocks planned for the Ronda Suroriente, 13 blocks cover 2,189,216.72 hectares, and of this area, 97% (2,123,540.22 hectares) directly overlaps with indigenous territories in the provinces of Pastaza and Morona Santiago. The planned expansion threatens the territorial rights of indigenous peoples and uncontacted peoples, as well as biodiversity and the global climate balance. The Indigenous territories at risk cover an area 0.9% larger than El Salvador(2).
Block 20, known as Pungarayaku (3), is located in Napo province, where 18% of its area overlaps with Indigenous territories. This extractive expansion undermines and threatens the cultural and physical survival of multiple nations and ancestral indigenous territories:
- Total Impact (100% of the territory): The Andwa (66,134.74 ha) and Shiwiar (219,967.77 ha) nations have their entire ancestral territories affected by the overlap.
- Devastating Impact: 81% of Achuar territory is compromised (549,889.19 ha affected), while 42% of Sapara territory is affected (155,652.68 ha).
- North-central communities: Block 20 severely affects 43% of the Quijos people’s territory and 32% of the Kichwa people of Rukullakta’s territory.
- Although Blocks 22 and 28 are not explicitly included in this bidding phase, no official information indicates that that they have been removed from the oil cadastre. Communities represented by the Waorani Organization of Pastaza (OWAP) and the Kichwa Nationality of Pastaza (PAKKIRU) could also face pollution from oil operations in neighboring blocks, including gas emissions and oil spills affecting land and rivers.
In total, the demarcation of the 13 blocks in the Southeast Round and the Pungarayaku Block threatens the livelihoods and community continuity of more than 521 indigenous communities in the provinces of Napo, Pastaza, and Morona Santiago. The greatest impact is felt by the Shuar people of Morona Santiago (388 communities, representing 74% of the total) and the Achuar people (71 communities, 14%), make up approximately 88% of those at risk.
Early planning for Block 22, carried out without consultation, violated the collective rights of the Waorani people of Pastaza, acknowledges the Ecuadorian Ombudsman’s Office
In late October, the Waorani Organization of Pastaza (OWAP) released the report by the Ecuadorian Ombudsman’s Office, which concludes that the planning and promotion of Block 22—included in the portfolio of 49 oil and gas projects under the “Hydrocarbon Roadmap” presented in August 2025 (1)—violated the collective rights of the Waorani people of Pastaza, even in the absence of a contract, environmental license, drilling, or actual physical damage; that is, the Waorani territory became the subject of hydrocarbon planning, structuring, promotion, and bidding without guaranteeing effective participation, without recognition of the 2018 Pikenani Mandate, and without having obtained the prior, free, and informed consent required in a context of enhanced protection, as is the case with the Waorani, who are a recently contacted indigenous people. This is the same situation faced by indigenous peoples whose territories are affected by the reconfiguration of the Southeast Round.
The report emphasized that consultation must begin at the earliest planning stage, while a project can still be modified or abandoned; It concludes that planning without consultation constitutes an ongoing violation of rights; as an immediate measure, it recommends removing or suspending Block 22 from official hydrocarbon planning and management instruments, making available information transparent, and avoiding any promotion, bidding, award, or negotiation would present oil development in Waorani territory in Pastaza as a fait accompli.
The recognition of the violation of collective rights due to the early and non-consultative planning of the Southeast Round of October 2026 applies equally to more than 2.12 million hectares of territories belonging to indigenous peoples and nations that are at risk.
Harm to natural heritage and watersheds
The areas covered by the proposed blocks harbor irreplaceable biodiversity reserves. Within the Southeast Round, 90.9% of the land retains intact natural vegetation, (1.99 million hectares), representing 1 out of every 5.5 hectares of natural forest throughout the Ecuadorian Amazon. These areas also support exceptional species richness, with estimates reaching 1,252 species per block such as Block 84.
Furthermore, the planned oil activity will fragment and seriously threaten vital water sources, overlapping with 25 key sub-watersheds of the Napo, Tigre, Pastaza, Morona, and Santiago rivers. Critical sub-basins such as those of the Morona (96.75% overlap), Mangosiza (100%), and Ishpingo (100%) rivers would be entirely exposed to pollution and degradation.
Ecuador, Host of the 2028 Biodiversity COP, Fails to Meet Biodiversity Targets
An analysis by Amazon Frontlines identifies Blocks 84, 85, 80, and 86 as having the highest combined species richness and reports an overall average of 1,119 species per block. According to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Ecuador’s Ministry of the Environment (MAE), these areas are home to ecosystems with high biodiversity of amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish, whose ecological integrity faces serious risks from infrastructure construction and habitat fragmentation. Even the block with the lowest average (Block 73, with 962 species) has a potential species richness of nearly 1,000 species per 100-km² cell.
Block 20, meanwhile, has an average of 1,087 species and retains 60.6% natural vegetation cover, even though 35.8% of its area is used for agriculture, livestock, and forestry. Potential development in this area would increase pressures on remaining habitats through the construction of roads and disturbances to aquatic ecosystems.
The opening of new oil extraction areas in the Ecuadorian Amazon is driving habitat fragmentation, road construction, and the disruption of aquatic ecosystems, directly threatening local flora and fauna (including amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles assessed by the IUCN) and stands in direct contradiction to the core objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to halt ecosystem degradation and protect areas of high biological and ecological richness.
It also demands unwavering consistency between diplomatic rhetoric and national decisions, especially now that Ecuador will host the 2028 Conference of the Parties (COP) on Biodiversity. Therefore, it is untenable to claim leadership on the global biodiversity protection agenda while ignoring the rights of nature and indigenous communities, as well as the recognition of their territories and their right to consultation and consent.
Risk to Global Climate Stability
The southeastern Amazon currently acts as a vital net carbon sink for the planet. The intact vegetation cover of the Ronda Suroriente alone removes -4.6 million metric tons of CO₂ annually, contributing 22.2% of Ecuador’s regional net carbon sink. Allowing the construction of roads, oil infrastructure, and the resulting deforestation would undermine this climate-regulating capacity and sharply increase greenhouse gas emissions, moving the country further away from its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and decarbonization goals. The Paris Agreement and international climate frameworks emphasize the conservation and strengthening of greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs to drastically reduce global emissions.
Call to Action
Based on these technical and territorial findings, from the new Southeast Round—which includes 14 oil blocks in the provinces of Napo, Pastaza, and Morona Santiago— we at Amazon Frontlines are warning indigenous nations to the imminent threat to their ancestral territories and livelihoods. We call for the immediate cancellation of plans to offer these oil blocks for bidding in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
The Ecuadorian government must respect Indigenous peoples’ decisions about their territories, guarantee consultation and free, prior, and informed consent, and prioritize Amazon conservation as an essential defense against climate and ecological collapse.
NOTES:
1. The alert issued by Amazon Frontlines in August 2025. When the Ecuadorian government presented the “Hydrocarbon Roadmap”—a portfolio of 49 oil and gas projects with an estimated investment of over $47 billion—Amazon Frontlines warned that at least 18 of these blocks directly impact Indigenous territories and violate constitutional protections and the right to prior consultation. In late August 2025, seven indigenous nations from Pastaza requested information from the Ecuadorian government regarding the Hydrocarbon Roadmap.
2.- An area of 2,123,540.22 hectares is exactly equivalent to 21,235.40 square kilometers (km²). To put this figure into perspective, its size is practically identical to that of El Salvador, which covers an area of 21,041 km², meaning that the area of indigenous territories threatened by these projects is just 0.9% larger than the entire Central American country.
3.- In August 2025, Block 20 (Pungarayacu), located in the province of Napo (Ecuador), was part of the Sub-Andean Round (comprising four blocks: 20, 22, 28, and 29). On October 6, 2026, Amazonian indigenous organizations (such as the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Napo—FOIN) and environmental organizations expressed their absolute opposition to the reopening of Block 20.
Press Contacts
- Luisana Aguilar: National Media Coordinator, Amazon Frontlines — luisana@amazonfrontlines.org
- Raúl Estrada: Campaigner, Amazon Frontlines — raul.estrada@amazonfrontlines.org
