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Hundreds of locals have protested over government plans for their region
Ecuadorian Indigenous arrive in Iquitos to express their rejection Manta-Manaus corridor.
Radio La Voz de la Selva | 21/07/2010 | A delegation of indigenous leaders in the Ecuadorian Amazon to Iquitos arrived today to protest the intent of the governments of Peru and Ecuador to implement the Manta-Manaus multimodal corridor under the IIRSA plan, the same as they affect their communities, especially the negative impact on the environment.
Greffe White, president of the Federation of Quichua Communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon, said the interest of the hundred and twenty Quichua communities in Ecuador is that their voices are heard during the presentation of the Napo River Binational Study within the framework of the proposed port connection Manta-Manaos, the same to be held on Thursday, July 22 in the auditorium of the Institute of Peruvian Amazon Research, based in Iquitos.
"We came out here (Iquitos) to attend the study will be presented tomorrow. In all the meetings we've had in recent weeks the foundations have expressed their opposition to this study because we know what will happen to our communities. The Napo River is not for surfing, sailing will have to dredge the river and it meant the destruction of species in our rivers. They are buying land in our communities to build the port. All this will be a negative social impact for our communities, "he said.
For its part Carlos Masabanda, Pachamama Foundation representative in Ecuador, said his concern is that there are indigenous communities across the Napo River strip them will be affected by a much-scale trade will only serve to transport containers from Brazil to Asia.
The draft Manta-Manaus port connection is a priority for the governments of Peru and Ecuador and plans implemented from 2011. The project involves the development of the Ecuadorian port of deepwater Manta, which was awarded to the company based in Hong Kong's Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) in a 30-year concession will require an investment of U.S. $ 523 million from the dealership and U.S. $ 55 million from the state.
The terminal will be connected by road to Puerto Francisco de Orellana, in Rio Napo, said Correa. In turn, the river will be dredged and then the port Francisco de Orellana be linked to the Brazilian port of Manaus through a system of locks. The Brazilian port leading to the Atlantic Terminal in Bethlehem, in the same country, which would make the project cheaper and faster route to connect the Atlantic and Asia, according to its promoters.
Since 2008, a group of specialists from France, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador made a tour of the Napo River to Iquitos to study sediment flow, leakage, climate variability, the impact of colonization, volcanic activity, flora and fauna of the basin. The end result of this study will be presented tomorrow in Iquitos which has generated the attention of the authorities.
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