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Esmeraldas: The Dying Jungle in the Corner of Ecuador

January 31, 2019 | Plan V
By
Rodolfo Asar
Dos trabajadores afroesmeraldeños en el norte de Esmeraldas. La palma africana domina la gran agroindustria en la región, con grandes capitales; pero la vida de la gente pobre no ha cambiado. Image by Rodolfo Ansar. Ecuador, 2019.

Dos trabajadores afroesmeraldeños en el norte de Esmeraldas. La palma africana domina la gran agroindustria en la región, con grandes capitales; pero la vida de la gente pobre no ha cambiado. Image by Rodolfo Ansar. Ecuador, 2019. 

Esmeraldas was once known as Equador's greenest province. Now indigenous and afrodescendent communities struggle to survive as loggers and palm oil producers invade the rainforest around them.

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

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