Given the lack of any adequate governmental oversight of the oil industry, Secoya monitoring aims first at ensuring company compliance with Ecuador’s environmental laws and its own environmental impact statements. To date, monitoring has been very successful at identifying and stopping some of the ecologically destructive actions of Occidental oil company and its subcontractors during construction two exploratory oil wells and seismic exploration covering more than half the Secoya territory.

The Secoya team called attention to and stopped improper access of oil workers through the territory; it successfully called on the oil company to clean up streams blocked during trail building; and it had seismic charges moved when they were placed too near to waterways. In cases where damage was irreversible, such as illegally felled trees, the Secoya have sanctioned the company with fines and required additional training for company workers.

More recently, we have expanded the scope of the monitoring to gain a broader understanding of the health of the rainforest. Having experienced the disappearance of game and other animals during periods of oil company activity, and facing other pressures on the land, the Secoya seek a better understanding of how their local environment is changing and what are the sources of change.

The Secoya monitoring team and Las Lianas are developing protocols to study aspects of this change. Based on traditional knowledge and modern environmental science, these include studies of bird populations as indicators of disturbance, observations of presence or absence of game animals, and a formal study of oil company reforestation attempts at an abandoned oil platform.

Knowledge gained from this work will inform land use planning locally and guide dialogue with oil companies and other outside actors. It will also contribute to the national debate on oil development by providing scientifically valid data to support indigenous people’s experience of the negative impacts of oil activities.