Quito
I arrived yesterday morning after a long flight with surprise stops in Bonaire and Guayaquil. The flight was relatively uneventful. The usual chitchat, some sleep and "No Country for Old Men" did it for me as far as entertainment goes.
Breakfast of Champions
I met Santiago (Villamarin), the curator of entomology at the Museum of Natural History in Quito (MECN), for lunch. He is supposed to be coming in April and I had been nagging him last week to get all the information for visa requirements from the British Consulate. Turns out he's been having to deal with the aftermath of Ben Samphire's tragic death (see previous post) because the Museum was their official Ecuadorian counterpart. There's bits of scattered information, nobody really knows what happened. Communication with the Police has been difficult and the other person accompanying Ben Samphire has left the country (can't blame them for that). So it seems to be somewhat messy. I am going to the consulate with Santiago this morning so might have some more information later on.
I saw this article in this morning's edition of "El Comercio" about a massive oil leak (+/- 21000 gallons) from a burst pipe in the vicinity of Santa Rosa. The CONAIE, the indigenous federation declared a state of emergency in all the zones affected by the leak.
Location of the Spill
Approximately 47 communities living on the Rivers Coca and Napo have been affected by the leak and there's currently an investigation and impact assessment being done. Apparently the water in both rivers is completely polluted. This is a big, big leak!. I am heading down to Coca today and I have some time this weekend so I will try and make down to see whether I can take some photographs before heading to Tena for the meeting with the Ministry of the Environment, the DED and Gran Sumaco Project.
posted by Johan at 12:42 PM
2 Comments:
I noticed your comments regarding Santiago Villamarin (of the MECN), and the death of Ben Samphire recently in Ecuador. It was my scientific/conservation research project on howler monkeys that Ben, another research assistant, and I had just begun working on when Ben was killed. I have been working with Santiago and the folks at the MECN for over 2 years preparing for the project, and we are all heartbroken over what has happened. I wanted to 'set the record straight' as to what the Ecuadorian police are reporting to the media about what really happened. They are saying that Ben was trespassing on someone's land and was likely mistaken for a thief. This is not true. We were working on land owned by local villagers who had given us full, written and signed permission for us to be there, and the landowners and local villagers are heartbroken and upset over what has happened. While we don't know the motive, and the killer has yet to be caught (to my most recent knowledge), most of the villagers believe it was likely a crazy person who lives in mountain area (but certainly NOT a landowner of any kind in this area), was himself the trespasser on the land we were working on, and had voiced some threats about 'getting those gringos'. The only motive we can theorize is that he shot Ben to try to steal some of his gear and equipment, but ran away before getting the chance. Along with the support of the MECN, I have had no choice but to temporarily suspend the project until we are able to continue in a safer environment. I do not know what your objectives are while in Ecuador, but I advise utmost caution. Certainly, the folks at the MECN have been extremely supportive. Our hearts and thoughts go out to Ben Samphire's family.
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