This thesis centrally asks: How did the Yasuní ITT project transform notions of sovereignty and environmental care in Ecuador? I argue that the Ecuadorian government, through the Yasuní ITT initiative, sought to create new means of creating revenue to finance development. I named the idea of using an international redistribution framework as an alternative to extractivist fueled development: “global green sovereignty.” This global green sovereignty stresses the abdication of national autonomy over development in favor of a post-petroleum economy.
In the third chapter I discuss how Correa used “21st century socialism” as a symbol of “post-neoliberalism” in Latin America (De Sousa Santos 2010). The Correa administration has sought means to receive financial assistance to circumvent oil dependency and create a post-petroleum society grounded in the ideas of Buen Vivir. The Correa administration primarily looked toward Chinese investment in hydroelectric facilities as a means to unwind Ecuador’s oil dependency and promote sustainable development. Many doubt the government’s commitment to environmental protection, especially because of Ecuador’s growing debt to China (Martinez 2014). It is important to monitor Chinese and Ecuadorian relations in the future. In addition to Chinese investment, the Yasuní ITT-Initiative was an attempt to achieve sustainable development in Ecuador. The Yasuní-ITT Initiative created a political alternative that would use international redistribution to fund local development projects, thereby benefitting Ecuador at the local and national level as well as the world.
In the fourth chapter I suggest that the idea of environmental co-responsibility will continue to be at the forefront of U.N. Climate Change Summits because developing countries do not have the power to enforce climate change policies. Developing countries like Ecuador look to the international community for financing mechanisms, such as the redistributive network proposed in The Yasuní ITT-Initiative. The initiative’s biggest legacy is the creation of the notion of a green global consciousness. This new consciousness will not be hindered by borders, political or ideological differences and would transcend traditional notions of sovereignty and create a new means of environmental care. The Yasuní ITT-Initiative was the Correa administrations attempt at transitioning Ecuador into a post-petroleum society; its failure can be partly attributed to the pioneering aspects of the model, which lacked sophisticated international coordination because of its novelty. In future Climate Conferences, such as the COP24 in Katowice, Poland in 2018 will be interesting to see what type of economic investment model will triumph and whether the Paris Agreement continues to be a key document utilized in climate change discussions.
My thesis offers a unique contribution to literature surrounding Ecuadorian economic development and indigenous sovereignty. This thesis combines literature about the Correa administrations in the context of Ecuadorian economic history, political history, and the developing history of climate change responsibility. This thesis discuses the idea of global green sovereignty, a term that describes the goal of realizing alternatives to extraction-fueled economic development in favor of sustainable methods that are supported and promoted at the international level. This thesis links the concepts of climate change responsibility and sustainable development by suggesting that the
Yasuní-ITT Initiative has the potential to set the precedent for oil dependent countries seeking to unwind their oil dependency without sacrificing development.
Finally, it is important to recognize that this thesis encountered a variety of limitations in both the quantity and quality of information available. First, I was researching a topic that occurred over a decade prior so it was difficult to find interviews or narratives that gave a direct point of view instead of a summary. For instance, I wish I could have used twitter posts during the Pachaktik movement as well as had better access to information from the Texaco trial. Similarly, my research on the Waorani was limited to government media publications and the ONHAE website, both of which are not geared toward answering research questions. My thesis, especially in Chapter 4, would have benefitted from hands on fieldwork. I also encountered a lot of vague and non-published information, especially in financial documents. While the Ecuadorian government claimed complete transparency with the Yasuní Fund, its publications regarding the amount and to which recipient organizations was unclear and when reported on financial
statements were conveniently left unnamed.
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