From January 28 to 31, 2026, researchers from the Center for Research and Applied Projects in Earth Sciences (CIPAT) and professors from The Faculty of Earth Sciences Engineering (FICT) at the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) held a training session in the city of Francisco de Orellana (El Coca), in the province of Orellana. The activity was carried out within the framework of the project “Citizen participation for sustainable territorial management of Amazonian areas affected by mining,” together with the Citizen Participation Corporation.
The initiative is part of the third phase of the project, aimed at strengthening local capacities to mitigate the impacts associated with illegal mining. To this end, a continuous training program is being implemented that brings together the community, academia, and government entities in the construction of alternatives for sustainable socioeconomic development and territorial conservation.
The training sessions were held at the Ciudad de Coca Educational Unit, where upper secondary school students participated in workshops on the impacts of illegal mining on the Amazonian ecosystem. Through educational resources for the basic interpretation of spectral indices, participants learned about changes in land cover and their relationship to environmental degradation.
In addition, ecotourism was addressed as a means of sustainable development through an interactive talk complemented by a creative drawing activity. The day also included an educational game contextualized to the Amazonian reality to strengthen environmental awareness in regions with high biodiversity.
The activities were extended to the Decentralized Autonomous Government of the Province of Orellana (GADPO) and the National Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR) in Orellana, where the main findings of the project related to the ecotourism potential of the territory were shared. These results provide technical criteria for the sustainable use of the area's natural and geological wealth.
The project is associated with the “AMAZONAS Project: Multitemporal Analysis in the Amazon for the Zoning of Environmental Impacts of the Mining Sector” (code CIPAT-005-2024), developed in 2024 in the western sector of Francisco de Orellana. This research provides the technical basis for the implementation of strategies to mitigate the environmental impacts associated with illegal mining.
The project is led by the dean of the Faculty of Earth Sciences Engineering, Paúl Carrión, Ph.D., together with professor Maribel Aguilar, Ph.D.(c). The team also includes:
- Fernando Morante, Ph.D. – Director of the Center for Research and Applied Projects in Earth Sciences (CIPAT).
- María Fernanda Jaya, Ph.D.(c) – Researcher at CIPAT-ESPOL.
- Lady Bravo, Ph.D,(c) – Researcher at CIPAT-ESPOL.
- Lady Soto, Ph.D.(c) – Professor at FCSH
- José Luis Mocayo – Specialist in citizen participation issues
Similarly, this initiative has the support of national and international academic and institutional partners, including:
- MAB Program – UNESCO, Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project.
- UNESCO Chair in Tropical Freshwater Management, Ikiam Amazon Regional University.
- Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) - Spain
- Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME) - CSIC
- Santa Elena Peninsula State University
- SbN-GIA Network - Nature-based Solutions for Integrated Water Management in Vulnerable Communities
- Prefecture of Orellana
- Napo Galeras National Park
- University of Colorado
- Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
With this initiative, ESPOL reaffirms its commitment to generating applied knowledge, citizen training, and technical support for strategic areas of the country. The coordination between scientific research, environmental education, and community participation contributes to strengthening territorial governance and promoting sustainable development in the Amazon region.
