Photo: Helena Cuerva | Pixabay
Los Cedros is a forest in the Chocó region of South America. It is home to spectacled bears, endangered frogs, rare orchid species, the brown-headed spider monkey—one of the world's rarest primates, and an abundance of other living creatures. For years the richly biodiverse region has been subject to mining for its copper and gold. That will no longer be the case. Recently, the high court of Ecuador ruled that mining on the reserve is unconstitutional and a violation of nature, with all mining permits and concessions being nullified. The court's ruling encompassed not just Los Cedros but to the entire country. Dr. Mika Peck, a senior biology lecturer at University of Sussex, said, “Policy frameworks that place humans in context as a part of nature... rather than placing humans as above, or apart from, nature, will be a necessary part of addressing the serious environmental issues that our planet is facing."
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