- Mongabay recently interviewed Juan Bay, the president of the Waorani Nation (NAWE) in Ecuador, on the stalled efforts to shut down oil drilling in Yasuní National Park that overlaps with Indigenous territories.
- A voter referendum in 2023 required the Ecuadorian government to shut down the 43-ITT oil block by August 2024, and the decision was backed up in a 2025 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).
- Since then, however, there’s been virtually no progress, Bay said, with the government having shuttered just 10 out of 247 oil wells in the block.
- Bay said communities continue to suffer from the environmental and cultural destruction caused by oil exploitation, as well as the internal divisions that formed between some Waorani communities.
In 2023, Ecuadorians voted for a binding referendum to end oil drilling in the 43-ITT oil block in Yasuní National Park. In 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) echoed the call in a ruling for the Ecuadorian state to do more to protect uncontacted Indigenous peoples whose territories overlap with the park.
But nearly three years since the referendum, and a year since the court ruling, the Ecuadorian government has still not closed the 43-ITT block. Juan Bay, the president of the Waorani Nation (NAWE), whose ancestral territory overlaps with the park, recently traveled to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York to denounce the lack of progress and express his frustrations with the state.
The Aug. 20, 2023, referendum saw the majority of voters choose to halt all future oil drilling in Yasuní, which involved the closure of 43-ITT and the creation of a commission to oversee the implementation of the results. The government had one year to withdraw from the oil block, by August 2024, but there’s been little progress since then. Bay said only 10 out of 247 oil wells in the block have been shut down.
“More than a year has passed [since the deadline] and the government is doing nothing to shut down that [operation] and leave the resource in the ground, which is the will of the Ecuadorian people,” Mariana Yumbay Yallico, a Waranka woman and member of Ecuador’s National Assembly, representing Bolívar province, told Mongabay at the UNPFII. “So, nothing has been done; [drilling] continues, and what’s more, there are reports that they want to expand [drilling] in that area.”
Patricia Gualinga, an Ecuadorian Indigenous leader and human rights defender, told Mongabay at the UNPFII that the government’s focus is on extractivism. “Despite the fact that there has been a referendum where Ecuadorians overwhelmingly said there should be no more oil exploitation, they continue to justify it by mentioning the country’s crisis, organized crime, and all these aspects, which is sad for the environment and for the people who live there,” she said.
Ecuador has 65 oil and gas lease blocks in the Amazon, covering a quarter of the country’s total area, according to the Stockholm Environment Institute. Many of the lease blocks overlap with Indigenous territories, including the Cuyabeno-Imuya Intangible Zone, home to 11 Indigenous communities from the Secoya, Siona, Cofán, Kichwa and Shuar nations.
In 2025, the IACHR ruled that oil extraction in Yasuní generated environmental pollution and increased the risks of forced contact with the isolated Tagaeri and Taromenane peoples within the park, potentially exposing them to diseases, forced displacement, food insecurity and conflicts over resources. It ordered Ecuador to take measures to protect the Indigenous people, including immediately halting oil operations.
In an interview with Mongabay’s Aimee Gabay, Bay provided the latest updates about the 43-ITT block closure, and the threat that noncompliance has on Waorani communities and isolated Tagaeri and Taromenane peoples. He said NAWE has presented several complaints to the Constitutional Court, the National Assembly and other state entities, urging immediate action. But none have responded, he added.
Mongabay contacted the president’s office and Petroecuador, the state-owned oil company, for comment; neither had responded by the time this interview was published.
The following interview was translated from Spanish and edited for clarity.
Mongabay: More than two years have passed since Ecuador voted to halt all future oil drilling in Yasuní National Park. Has there been any progress in closing the 43-ITT oil block?
Juan Bay: On Aug. 20, 2023, a popular referendum was held in which the Ecuadorian people democratically showed their solidarity in saving Yasuní National Park, recognized as one of the lungs of the world. With 58% of the vote, the Ecuadorian people decided that the oil in Block 43 should remain underground.
Now, almost three years later, the government has simply presented a report on the 247 wells, with 10 wells closed. This demonstrates that the government has not acted in accordance with the will of the people. It is important to remember that in 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ratified the immediate closure of Block 43 to guarantee the territorial rights and the right to existence of the isolated Tagaeri and Taromenane peoples.
Mongabay: Have any efforts been made to pressure the current government to comply with the referendum result?
Juan Bay: From NAWE, as the government of the Waorani people, we have taken several actions regarding this territory, one of which was the international summit for Yasuní, where a mandate from the Waorani people emerged. The Waorani people presented this mandate to the Constitutional Court, the National Assembly, and the relevant ministries, urging them to take action. However, the government has shown no willingness to act.
On May 8, 2024, the government created a committee that excludes the effective participation of the Waorani people and also our Kichwa brothers and sisters.
The Waorani people, as the rightful owners of this territory, must be present on the frontlines to guarantee compliance with the democratic decision of the Ecuadorian people. Therefore, NAWE is working on a mechanism to address this. During this term, NAWE presented evidence to the court stating that the government had promised a five-year closure and dismantling of Block 43, but the Waorani people demonstrated that “It’s not five years, it’s one year.” They worked with experts and allies in that territory and presented their case, but received no response.
Today, NAWE is also taking direct action to demonstrate to the government, the country, and the world that closing Block 43 is indeed possible.
We are currently working internally with oil and economic experts to guide and demonstrate the feasibility of closing at least two or three of the 247 wells, proving that it is possible. The issue of fossil fuel extraction cannot be discussed without taking concrete action based on the territorial demands of the people on the frontlines.
Mongabay: What is the atmosphere like on the ground today?
Juan Bay: Well, in addition to the fact that we already have a democratic decision, the current stance regarding Block 43, which has not been completely shut down (the oil blocks, the income of the oil companies, the impact it has had, the environmental and cultural destruction), has strongly generated division. There has also been a strong presence of isolated peoples, and NAWE has also been speaking out to guarantee and defend the rights of peoples in isolation, adhering to the resolution of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Therefore, we demand time and again that the state and the current government must accept the resolution and the democratic decision of strict compliance with the closure of Block 43 to guarantee the rights of Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and also the right to assistance for the Waorani people.
Mongabay: How has this failure to comply with the referendum results affected your community within Yasuní National Park?
Juan Bay: The harm is the violation of rights that the state is failing to uphold. The democratic decision of the Waorani people is a right that must be respected and strictly enforced. Today, we, the Waorani people, have felt the violation of our rights, of that democratic decision, that decision to defend our territory, to defend our lives, and for future generations.
And that is why, time and again, we demand from the territory of the Waorani people that this violation of rights not be allowed because the 2008 Constitution recognizes the right to nature. What does that mean? It is the right to defend our territory, the right of Indigenous peoples to receive assistance. But we have seen absolutely nothing; it is only written that the state doesn’t care.
We have seen the new decree, the new reform, the reform of the mining law that generates an impact of militarization in Indigenous territories, in the territories of the nations, which is why we have denounced it. We have taken action and we have recently presented an action of unconstitutionality before the court so that they can partially activate the legal process and review the impacts and the danger and risk that it poses to the lives of Indigenous peoples.
Mongabay: What is happening with the communities who supported oil exploration? Has there been any dialogue with them?
Juan Bay: The Waorani community has always been a united people, a people of struggle, a warrior people, but since the arrival of external actors, a serious threat and a deep division have arisen. NAWE has worked as a territorial government to call for unity, which is based on consensus.
Of course, it’s complex and complicated when there are actors like oil companies that incite us with deception and lies, claiming that oil extraction would [contribute to] employment, health and education — a situation that is not being addressed, which is a complete fabrication.
That is why the Waorani Nation has always called for the unity of the Waorani people, unity in defense of our territory, unity in defense of our collective rights, and today we have demonstrated that the Waorani people have shown unity in defense of their territory.
Of course, there are some communities where we initially felt a strong clash, but we have demonstrated our capacity for unity as the Waorani people with a single objective: to defend our territory, to defend our collective rights.
That is why NAWE has maintained its resistance, has continued to make demands and denunciations, and has taken concrete actions within that territory. Therefore, we demand respect, respect for public consultation, respect for life, and respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Mongabay: What is your opinion on the efforts Ecuador has made so far to transition to non-fossil energy sources? Are you concerned about this transition, or do you have any ideas on how it should be carried out?
Juan Bay: To put things in context, 60 years ago, destruction began in the Ecuadorian Amazon, through lies and deception. The authorities and governments at the time claimed that the only way to advance the country’s development, and the development of the Indigenous people, was to destroy the Amazon and exploit its oil.
Today, 60 years have passed, and all the oil companies have left behind is environmental damage, disease and social problems such as alcoholism and betrayal, which have led to the death of the Waorani people.
Therefore, the closure of Block 43 and the 2023 democratic decision are issues that must be discussed in the global conversation. If we don’t include this issue in the global discussion of the Yasuní case, if we don’t implement and adapt that democratic decision, we cannot talk about a transition away from fossil fuels, a gradual transition.
But we, the Waorani people, have already taken real action; we have worked, we have demonstrated that it is possible. However, we haven’t seen that collective effort, that unified support. The Waorani Nation has indeed forged many alliances with other peoples from different countries in the Amazon Basin, which we understand. That’s why we’ve said that without the effective participation and dialogue of Indigenous peoples, a just and effective energy transition and a transitional move away from fossil fuels are impossible.
That’s why we’ve said, we demand, that participation and advocacy by territorial governments are key. Without the participation of Indigenous peoples in key decisions and negotiations, it’s impossible. That’s why we’ve always maintained that the participation of Indigenous nationalities is crucial and effective.
Banner image: A channel-billed toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus) in Yasuní National Park. Image by Albert Michaud via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
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