ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the impact of development on the native peoples of Amazonia in general and on those of the Aguarico River of Ecuador in particular. In a very real sense, the native peoples of Amazonia have been experiencing "development" ever since Francisco de Orellana's voyage through the basin in 1541-1542. In all of the Amazonian countries, mechanisms of national integration are multiple and include military and civil agencies, regional development banks, colonization programs, and fiscal incentives for investment corporations. The strategy for Amazonian development should emphasize the potential long-term benefits to the involved nations and not the ephemeral profits of rapacious exploitation so characteristic of the boom-bust history of the Amazon Basin. Despite the plans and efforts of governments and big businesses to "develop" Amazonia, much of the activity in the region stems from more individualized behavior. The growing use of pesticides and herbicides in Amazonia is also causing concern among observers.
