Industrial Mining: Water Coloniality and Dispossession in Indigenous Territories of the Southern Amazon Region in Ecuador

Abstract

We examine the dynamics that emerged during the exploitation and beneficiation phase of Ecuador’s first large-scale mining project in the Shuar Indigenous territories of the southern Amazon. Using an integrated approach that combines hydrosocial studies and political ecology, we examine the tensions, resistance, and socioenvironmental and cultural impacts resulting from the regrowth of tailings deposits, river diversions, steelmaking, and the expansion of mining activities. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including surveys, interviews, and socioenvironmental mapping. The findings highlight water disputes that serve as a form of territorial control and resource appropriation vital for community survival and ancestral practices. Our research reveals processes of water coloniality driven by territorial disputes and water privatization, resulting in the development of community governance strategies aimed at asserting rights.