Oil extraction is on the rise in the Amazon. In the Ecuadorian Amazon, indigenous communities are threatened by the expansion of this sector and suffer from the environmental pollution caused.
Can community-based monitoring (CBM), whereby local communities are trained in the use of technology, help detect and report cases of environmental pollution?
According to Dr Lorenzo Pellegrini and Professor Murat Arsel it can.
In the one-pager below we share with you key findings of this innovative research and six lessons learned. Feel free to download the document and share it within your networks.
This research project received support, amongst others, from the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), and the Dutch NGO Hivos.
The initial project ended in November 2018, but continues through the All Eyes on the Amazon project led by Hivos and Greenpeace with funding, amongst others, from the National Postcode Lottery.
About the researchers
Professor Murat Arsel is Professor of Political Economy of Sustainable Development. His work focuses on the tensions between nature, capitalism and emancipatory socio-economic change.
Dr Lorenzo Pellegrini is Associate Professor of Economics of Environment and Development. His research interests include the socio-environmental impact of extractive industries, environmental justice, impact evaluation, institutions and corruption.
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The one-pager is based on two articles:
- Carlos F. Mena, Murat Arsel, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Marti Orta-Martinez, Pablo Fajardo, Ermel Chavez, Alexandra Guevara & Paula Espin (2020) Community-Based Monitoring of Oil Extraction: Lessons Learned in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Society & Natural Resources, 33:3, 406-417, DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2019.1688441.
- Pellegrini, Lorenzo (2019) Community monitoring of socio-environmental liabilities with advanced technologies in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon (New Delhi: 3ie, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation.
