Paper short abstract:

Using examples from the Ecuadorian Amazon, this paper analyses the obstacles to Indigenous peoples' efforts to protect the local and global environment. It argues that solutions are to be found in greater regulation of international banks and transborder financial transactions.

Paper long abstract:

Indigenous peoples are at the forefront of the climate crisis, acting as stewards of the rainforests in resisting the advance of extractive frontiers into Indigenous territories, which account for 80 per cent of the world's biodiversity. Indigenous representatives have achieved a high profile on the global political stage, gaining support from inter-governmental and non-governmental institutions and agencies in their efforts to defend Indigenous rights and the Rights of Nature. Despite a series of victories by Indigenous environment defenders in state and international courts, however, mining and oil drilling continue to expand in Amazonia at the cost of Indigenous communities' wellbeing and cultural survival. Using examples from the Ecuadorian Amazon region, with reference to the use of unofficial payments to government officials, the use of tax havens, and the illegal trafficking of wild animals, this paper provides an analysis of the convergence of legal and illegal forces within the global economy that contribute to the continued destruction of Amazonian eco-systems. It contends that the expansion of moves towards bank transparency and the regulation of transborder financial transactions are key elements in preventing development projects that are damaging to Indigenous rights and the global environment.