This project aims at gathering evidence of pollution from illegal gold mining in Ecuador’s San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro cantons to support legal action to protect local communities and initiate an international advocacy campaign against gold laundering.

The cantons of San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro, located in the province of Esmeraldas, northern Ecuador, are home to approximately 200,000 people across 60 communities. The majority of the population consists of indigenous groups and Afro-descendants, many of whom face limited access to basic services, economic opportunities, and education. Esmeraldas remains one of the most impoverished and disadvantaged areas of the country.

This region also grapples with severe environmental challenges, notably the expansion of palm oil plantations and illegal gold mining. Since the early 2000s, unauthorized small-scale gold extraction has intensified in the area largely driven by illicit trafficking from Colombia. These activities have taken over local rivers, contaminating the water sources relied upon by the local communities.

In response to this crisis, in 2011, the “Defensoría del Pueblo” (Ombudsman's Office) requested the Ecuadorian government precautionary measures to regulate mining activities in the area. These measures imposed a complete halt to mining activities and suspended new concessions, and were further expanded in 2018 by imposing the actuation of remediation measures. However, throughout this period, authorities failed to enforce compliance, allowing illegal mining to resurge. The situation worsened further during the COVID-19 pandemic and as global gold prices soared. In 2022, a compliance evaluation hearing led to the transformation of the precautionary measures into a “Acción de Protección” (Protection Action), thus necessitating a new hearing. Although the latter has not yet been scheduled, Acción Ecológica, one of Ecuador's leading environmental organizations, has repeatedly submitted letters urging action.

Building on previous local bottom-up efforts, the project aims to protect the environmental rights of local communities, strengthen legal accountability, and contribute to broader global efforts to combat environmental crimes. In particular, we will:‍

• Gather evidence – We will gather independent, high-quality evidence of pollution caused by illegal gold mining in the canton of San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro. This data will be collected with the support of the local association Fundación Manos de Dios Redentor and integrated with past findings from local bottom-up monitoring initiatives.

• Support local legal actions – Acción Ecológica will use this data to file an “Acción de protección” (Protection Action) in the Court of San Lorenzo. This legal initiative seeks to compel the Ecuadorian State to enforce control measures, withdraw illegal mining operations, and initiate environmental restoration efforts.

• Support international advocacy against gold laundering – Environmental pollution data will also be employed in international advocacy efforts against gold laundering, shedding light on the global networks that enable illicit gold trade. This action will be carried out in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
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This project is supported by the Better Way Foundation and other donors.

In November 2024, we conducted our first field sampling in collaboration with volunteers from the Fundación Manos de Dios Redentor. The sampling took place at the end of the dry season across 16 locations in the San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro cantons (see the blue points in the map below). These sites were selected for their relevance to the project’s objectives and because they had been part of previous investigations. At each location, we measured general water quality parameters and collected surface water samples and sediments for further analysis.

Once back in Italy, we sent the samples to an accredited laboratory for the quantification of heavy metals and cyanide. The results revealed elevated cyanide levels in the water and sediments of the Santiago, Tululbí, Bogotá, and Cachaví rivers – areas previously identified through satellite imagery and local knowledge as having mining activities. In most cases, surface water cyanide concentrations exceeded the Ecuadorian limit for the protection of aquatic life (0.01 mg/L). In one case, cyanide levels also surpassed the national drinking water standard of 0.1 mg/L. Cyanide is commonly used in small- and medium-scale gold mining operations, and similar concentrations have been observed in other mining-affected areas of the country. These observations underpin a clear nexus between mining activities and cyanide pollution.

Before the end of the wet season, we will perform a second sampling to further support these findings.

For a full account of our results, see our intermediate report (available soon).