Amazon oil exploitation cases brought before international tribunal

The International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature is conducting its third regional session in Puyo, Ecuador, to examine six cases of oil exploitation affecting the Amazon across Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. This ethical tribunal issues informative verdicts intended to support historical claims, though its decisions are not legally binding.

The proceedings coincide with the XII Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (FOSPA), where indigenous groups, environmentalists, and farmers are coordinating strategies against extractive threats. A central focus of the litigation is the Yasuní Block in Ecuador.

Indigenous leaders, including Juan Bai of the Waorani Nationality of Ecuador (NAWE), are protesting the continued extraction of oil in the Yasuní area despite a 2023 public referendum where nearly 59 percent of voters supported halting production in the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini fields. Organizations report that extraction averaged 42,105 barrels per day between January and June 2026, which they claim violates the democratic mandate and threatens biodiversity and indigenous territories, including groups in voluntary isolation.