Petroamazonas sign
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- 1991
- Location
- Ecuador
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2006. Terms of use
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- Search LEARN NC for Ecuador, oil, and rain forests.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
A sign for Petroamazonas indicates that this area is a tree protection area.
Ecuador relies on its large oil reserves to a significant degree. Indeed, forty percent of Ecuador economic production is in oil. However, the oil is located in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest. Because the areas are so inaccessible, Indian communities have managed to maintain traditional ways of life and the large biodiversity of the region has thrived. Oil production threatens both the livelihood of the indigenous communities and the existence of the region’s flora and fauna. Oil companies have carved up the rainforest for drilling and extraction, leaving behind a legacy of pollution and ecological trauma.
Petroecuador is the state-run oil company. It is responsible for drilling, extracting, and delivering oil to the coastal refineries.
