Ecuador’s Cuenca votes to ban future mining projects

Prohibition will apply to future large-scale mining activities in Cuenca and surrounding area, but questions persist.

Quito, Ecuador – As the results of this month’s presidential elections in Ecuador remain disputed, another important vote was held that could have wide-reaching implications for the South American nation. Residents of the Andean city of Cuenca and the county’s rural outskirts on February 7 voted to prohibit future large-scale mining activities in five nearby watershed zones – an area that stretches over 3,100 square kilometres (1,197 square miles) and is home to more than 580,000 people. Each of the five questions on the ballot received nearly 80 percent support in favour of the ban on mining for any metals, provincial authorities said on February 11, when the final count was released.