21 Apr 2006

Expert on Indigenous Cultures Presents the Court with Demographic Studies Disproving Plaintiffs' Claims About Indigenous Populations in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Nueva Loja, April 21, 2006 - During the April 5 judicial inspection of the Guanta 7 well site, Dr. Eduardo Bedoya, Bolivian anthropology expert on indigenous affairs in Latin America, presented the Superior Court of Nueva Loja with the results of demographic studies which show that the Cofán indigenous population has not decreased in the past thirty years, thus disproving the claims made by the plaintiff's lawyers allegations in the lawsuit filed against Chevron. In his expert report presented to the Dr. Bedoya said "Populations in most of the indigenous tribes of the Oriente seem to have increased during the time of oil exploration and production activities in Ecuador."

Demographic studies presented by Dr. Bedoya indicate that the Cofán - far from "facing extinction" as claimed by the plaintiffs and their supporters - increased in number from 300 inhabitants in 1955 to 1,044 in the official government census of 2001. The increase is mainly attributed to improved access to medical care.

In an analysis based on his review of sociologic and anthropologic studies on Ecuadorian indigenous populations, Dr. Bedoya cites several Ecuadorian and foreign authors, who have attributed significant Ecuadorian Amazonian population reductions to epidemics that occurred before oil exploitation in the area, as well as to loss of tribal identity and changes in their ways of living, due to colonization of their tribal lands and a lack of government policies in favor of the indigenous populations.

Doctor Eduardo Bedoya has a Ph.D in Anthropology from New York University. In his professional career he has focused on rural development studies, as well as on alternative development and indigenous labor issues. In the past few years, he has worked as consultant for the ILO, CARE-Perú, WINROCK Corporation, the World Bank, and the IUCN.

View the complete text of the study presented by Dr. Eduardo Bedoya at the Superior Court of Nueva Loja.

(PDF, 629KB)

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