Words and photos:
Darcy Gaechter
Small World Adventures
www.smallworld
adventures.com
In the early 1990s when whitewater kayaking was just getting its start in Ecuador, it would have been easy to describe the Quijos and Napo Valleys as a vast, untouched wilderness. Though this wouldn’t have been true – Indigenous people, Spanish colonists and Ecuadorians had occupied the place for hundreds, if not thousands of years – it would have been easy to believe. Vast tracks of rainforest dominated the landscapes. Raging rain-fed torrents carved streaks down each crevice in the Andes Mountains. The roads were narrow, sinuous affairs, and the bridges were few. Hardly any locals had seen a kayaker before and foreigners were a rare source of wonderment. A striking sense of wildness prevailed.
Save the Piatua River, Ecuador
Fast forward to 2019 and Ecuador has finally earned its place as an international kayaking destination, but its landscape is entirely different. Like most places in the world, progress has marched all over Ecuador. It was a combination of smaller farmers clearing the land for livestock and mono crops plus the more profitable and government-controlled realms of oil, gold and now hydro power (or unfathomably big construction contracts being offered up under the guise of hydro power) that most notably changed Ecuador’s countryside. This development has been driven in turns by local, North American, Italian and Argentinian investments. Lately, it seems most driven by Chinese money and the internal drive and ability to make a few Ecuadorian businessmen and bureaucrats very wealthy.
the way of the world
This progress, in large part, is what has helped drive and develop the white water industry; after all, who wanted to drive to Tena when it took eight hours on a single-lane dirt road from Quito? Today it takes 3.5 hours on pavement. But things seem to have taken a turn for the worse and what this march of progress looks like right now is senseless dams that will never produce the power they promise, open pit gold mines, and oil exploitation even in the country’s most biodiverse and protected areas. Much of the development happening doesn’t make sense from an environmental, financial, or even practical standpoint. This story isn’t unique; it’s the way of the world and you can find examples of it in any country on earth.
While the general story isn’t distinctive, the Piatua River is. It’s incredibly special and worth saving for the locals who live along it, the animals who call its waters and riparian areas home, the ecological corridor it provides a vital link for, and the kayakers who grin from ear to ear as they make their way down it’s countless boulder gardens. Mostly it’s worth saving to send the message that free-flowing rivers have value. The future of environmentalism and conservationism in Ecuador is at stake here, and the Piatua has become the battle ground.
An Ecuadorian company has been awarded what many believe is a questionable concession to build a dam on the remote and wild Piatua River. This hydro-project is a trans-basin diversion that would significantly de-water the last 20 kilometres of the river before its confluence with the Anzu River—the entire paddling section of the Piatua River. This project was not in the country’s electric development plan and it bypassed many requirements during the environmental permitting process, including the consideration of recreational uses of the river.
constitutional rights
Ecuador has a number of measures in place to protect its environment from these sort of short-sighted projects: Ecuador was the first country to give constitutional rights to nature, and new development projects must prepare an environmental impact statement and complete a process of public participation with the affected population before they can be approved. Sadly, we did not see these considerations and requirements met on the Piatua hydro-project, and there will be consequences of this dam that reach far beyond the paddling world. If built, this dam would cut off fishing and water supply for indigenous communities. It would endanger a species of catfish endemic to the Piatua River as well as nine species of frogs who live in and along the river and who are considered critically endangered and at risk of extinction. It would also cut off an important ecological corridor between the Andes Mountains and the lower Amazon River Basin.
last-ditch effort
Small World Adventures and the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute are embarking on a last-ditch effort to stop this project because we believe the future of environmental protection and of white water kayaking in Ecuador depends on the outcome of this case. The ERI is fighting the dam in the courts and Small World Adventures is raising money to support this effort through a summer-long fundraiser and gear giveaway – 100% of the money raised will be donated to the ERI. Due in large part to the support of local Indigenous groups and two recent precedent-setting cases (the Kofan victory over big mining and the Waorani victory over big oil), we believe that a positive outcome is possible in this case, and we are putting our all behind these efforts.
On May 28, 2019, the Napo River Foundation, together with the Kichwa Communities of Santa Clara (Ponakicsc), Pachamama Foundation, Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Confeniae), and the Defenders of the Piatua River, in coordination with the Center of Human Rights of the Catholic University of Ecuador and the Pastaza office of the Public Defender of Ecuador, presented a constitutional demand to the Provincial Court in Puyo, Ecuador.
The legal demand asks for protective measures to preserve the Piatua River intact in its natural state for the benefit of present and future generations. The communities feel that this hydroelectric project has serious deficiencies, errors, and omissions and that it did not follow government laws allowing public participation during the permitting process. Additionally, this project has violated the rights of the legendary Piatua River, and the rights of the people who use the river and depend upon it for their livelihoods.
On June 20th, the judge of the penal court in Puyo, Ecuador denied the motion to protect the Piatúa River. Ample evidence was presented as proof that the company bypassed many requirements when they secured their permit and in doing so, violated the rights of the Piatúa and the right of prior consent of the local communities, but the judge still sided in favour of the dam and against the free-flowing Piatúa. The decision will be appealed to the provincial court of Pastaza, and we are considering a public referendum to preserve the Piatúa River as a free-flowing Andean Amazon watershed.
We are disappointed in the ruling, but not disheartened. We have legitimate arguments which demonstrate the violation of constitutional rights, and will continue the fight. The evidence and facts are on our side and we hope for an impartial ruling by the provincial court of Pastaza. We assume that regardless of who is victorious in Pastaza, that this case will be appealed to the constitutional court in Quito, so we still have a long battle ahead. Let’s keep this fundraiser alive and kicking–now is the time to show wide-spread international support for the Piatúa River!
Fight for the Piatua
Paddling community, we are asking you to help us in our fight for the Piatua. Here are some things you can do:
- Donate to our Save the Piatua fundraiser. 100% of the money raised in our fundraiser goes directly to support the legal action explained above. https://go.rallyup.com/savethepiatua When you donate to the cause, you’ll get chances to win awesome white water prizes (see details below).
- Sign the petition in favour of keeping the Piatua free-flowing. http://chng.it/bCNNFRqtm4
- Share both the fundraiser and the petition on your social media outlets. The more we can spread the word the better!
- Come to Ecuador and paddle the Piatua! We want to show local governments that tourism is a viable and sustainable form of development.
All of us paddlers have special connections with the rivers we love to paddle, we see them differently, and know first-hand the importance of keeping them wild and free. So please, spread the word on the Piatua, and for your own local river, and let’s all keep fighting the good fight.
Plus, there’s potentially more in it for you when you help!
When you donate to our Save the Piatua Fundraiser, you’ll have the chance to win one of these awesome prizes from our fundraiser sponsors:
- Week-long kayaking trip in Ecuador with Small World Adventures
- 2016 Rock Star from Jackson Kayak
- Surge or Strike paddle (your choice) from Werner Paddles custom built for you
- Kokatat Mythic Shorty Top and Centurion Maximus PFD
- Whitewater EXP skirt from Snap Dragon Design
- Flirt EXP skirt from Snap Dragon Design
- Ocoee Watershed dry bag from AS Watersports
- One-year subscription to Kayak Session Magazine (five winners will each get a year-long subscription)
