ECUADOR Law and Practice Contributed by: Roque Bernardo Bustamante and Claudia Bustamante, Flor Bustamante Pizarro & Hurtado
the pertinence of actions to be taken. The purpose of the participation of the population will be to collect their opinions and observations in order to incorporate them in the Environmental Impact Studies, provided that they are technically and economically viable. A key aspect of the Environmental Impact Study is to include mechanisms of socialisation and citizen par - ticipation, so that the population is informed of the environmental impact of carrying out projects; this will be channelled through the tools set out in the Organic Code of the Environment. Recent Regulatory Developments and Legal Uncertainty In March 2023, an Executive Decree was passed regulating environmental consultations; however, indigenous groups filed an unconstitutionality action to the Constitutional Court claiming that the Execu - tive Decree was unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court ruled that the Executive Decree will be in force until the National Assembly issues a new law regulat - ing environmental consultation. As of December 2025, such a new law regulating environmental consultation has yet to be issued. Regarding indigenous/ancestral consultation, in March 2024, an Executive Decree was issued regulat - ing this consultation. However, similar to the Executive Decree regarding environmental consultation, a group of people made a filing before the Constitutional Court claiming that this Decree was unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court has not yet issued a decision. Therefore, as of December 2025, the only references and parameters to indigenous/ancestral consultation are those provided in the Executive Decree that is being challenged, in ILO 169 and in the parameters set by the Constitutional Court. Ecuador is made up of a large ethnic mix of indig - enous peoples and immigrants who arrived a few cen - turies ago. Technically, only the indigenous/ancestral communities are required to have prior consultation but, considering the large and diverse ethnic mix, eve - rybody claims to be a community subject to consulta - tion and special rights. The issue has to be analysed 2.5 Impact of Specially Protected Communities on Mining Projects
on a case-by-case basis, and it is impossible to pre - dict an outcome. 2.6 Community Development Agreement for Mining Projects Community development agreements are possible, but not mandatory. It is advisable to have co-opera - tion agreements with local communities and to include them as much as possible as part of the project. 2.7 ESG Guidelines and Regulations Former President of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso issued Executive Decree No 754 by which the Regulations to the Environmental Organic Code were reformed, and a chapter regarding environmental consultation was included. Environmental consultation must be carried out during the process of obtaining an envi - ronmental registry for initial exploration and environ - mental licensing for advanced exploration and exploi - tation. Indigenous groups filed a constitutional action against the Executive Decree, claiming that environ - mental consultation should be regulated by virtue of an organic law and not subsidiary regulation. The Constitutional Court ruled that the Execute Decree No 754 is not constitutional because environmental con - sultation shall be regulated by organic law. However, it ruled that the Executive Decree will be valid and in force until the National Assembly issues an organic law regulating environmental consultation. 2.8 Illegal Mining Illegal mining has become an issue in Ecuador in recent years, posing challenges to both the govern - ment and the legal mining sector. Large illegal min - ing operations, such as the one named the “Buenos Aires Mine”, have gained control over some areas of the country, making it difficult for authorities to effec - tively intervene. Additionally, small but recurrent illegal mining operations have occurred within concessions legally held by mining companies, disrupting lawful industrial mining activities and creating environmental and social issues. The Ecuadorian government has taken increasingly strict measures to address illegal mining, particu - larly in the last year. However, the problem remains widespread and challenging to control. Illegal mining is classified as a serious criminal offence under the
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