Story

Along the Vía Auca and in Orellana, the Footprint of Deforestation Grows

January 31, 2019 | Plan V
By
Rodolfo Asar
En provincias como Orellana, la deforestación también ha aumentado de manera significativa, así como las necesidades de los pobladores. Image by Rodolfo Ansar. Ecuador, 2019.

En provincias como Orellana, la deforestación también ha aumentado de manera significativa, así como las necesidades de los pobladores. Image by Rodolfo Ansar. Ecuador, 2019. 

When the Ecuadorean government opened the Via Auca, a new highway leading to oilfields deep in the rainforest, hordes of would be colonists poured along it looking for El Dorado. Most failed, but the Huaorani people have managed to defend their territory against invaders.

This article was published in the Spanish Language publication Plan V. Read the story in Spanish here.

Support for this reporting was made possible by the Rainforest Journalism Fund, in association with the Pulitzer Center.