ABSTRACT
Intag, a cloud forest region in northwest Ecuador, stands out for its mega-biodiversity and social opposition to copper extraction in the Toisán Range. Since the mid-1990s, schemes for ecotourism, agro-ecology, reforestation and mining have abounded and transformed the rural imaginary, challenging local residents to consider Intag territories in new ways. In this case, neoliberal policies inadvertently contributed to local empowerment and increased civic participation. Rural women and men expanded their social networks and gained access to scientific and other information. Their success in forcing two transnational corporations to exit the region was not without controversy and conflict, yet the proposal for extraction remains unsettled. As one Intag woman proclaimed, ‘It's like a recurring nightmare, because the minerals are still in the soil’. However, in 2008 Ecuadorian citizens approved the Constitution of Monticristi, which guarantees their rights to sumak kawsay, the Kichwa concept for an integrated buen vivir/well-being. Notably, the new constitution also stands out for giving rights to Nature, 1 thereby granting ecosystems and other species rights within a legal frame for sustainable development. As Arsel (2012) explains, the new constitution aims to redefine and put into practice mutually beneficial nature-society relationships.
