Throughout the research process of writing my paper, I was overwhelmed with the amount of problems and lack of solutions that the people of Ecuador have in terms of water contamination. Ecuador has been involved in a resource curse, specifically around the mighty oil market. Their natural resources have been exploited by national corporations such as Chevron/Texaco since the 1980’s that have ruined the lush rain forests around their nation. The most unnerving part of writing this paper was reading the excerpts from those that live in these drilling areas. Most of these people are indigenous, living within these rain forests and are heavily reliant upon the land to sustain a consistent lifestyle. It was tough learning about their lack of government representation while oil drilling continued on their land. The water in their local rivers have become contaminated, therefore contaminating their livestock in which they drink the water flowing down these rivers. People are getting sick and developing cancers at an overwhelming rate.
The main problem that I saw from my research paper was the lack of ideas for figuring out a solution that would benefit both parties, the government and the people with no voice. There are clean water efforts led by different organizations from all around the world that supply (some) of these people with enough water and food to survive, but nothing much beyond that. There are a few “fix-all” solutions that have been thrown around, but nothing that will be of immediate help due to financial restrictions and of course, time. This paper really put in perspective how much of an importance it is to our health and lifestyles to have the basic necessities such as clean water and a responsive government. I can only hope that their voices will be heard by an international community and to finally escape this resource curse.
Picture Source: https://u.osu.edu/cobbold.1/files/2014/04/oil-place-2kk214r.jpg