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This report provides a brief background on political and economic conditions in Ecuador under President Correa, and examines current U.S. relations with Ecuador.

AbstractThe question of whether environmental conditions influence human migration has recently gained considerable attention, driven by claims that global environmental change will displace large populations. Despite this high level of interest, few quantitative studies have investigated the potential effects of environmental factors on migration, particularly in the developing world and for gradual but pervasive forms of environmental change. To address this, a retrospective migration survey was conducted in rural Ecuador and linked to data on topography, climate, and weather shocks. These data were used to estimate multivariate event history models of alternative forms of mobility (local mobility, internal migration, and international migration), controlling for a large number of covariates. This approach is generalizable to other study areas and responds to calls for the development of more rigorous methods in this field. The results indicate that adverse environmental conditions do not consistently increase rural out-migration and, in some cases, reduce migration. Instead, households respond to environmental factors in diverse ways, resulting in complex migratory responses. Overall, the results support an alternative narrative of environmentally induced migration that recognizes the adaptability of rural households in responding to environmental change.

In today's Ecuador, historically, in the provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas on the Coast; Azuay and Cañar in the Sierra, were the most developed mining. In the decades of the 80s and 90s, the British Mission performed geological research in the Eastern (Real) and Western Ranges, concluding with the publication of maps at different scales. The competencies of the Sector Ministry are to exercise the rectory of the public policies of the geological-mining area, to issue the administrative agreements and resolutions that require their management; Evaluate policies, plans and projects for the development of the mining sector; Define, in coordination with the governing body of national planning, the National Development Plan for the Mining Sector. The Mining Law, in force since January 2009, established a new institutional structure, made up of: Sector Ministry (Ministry of Non-Renewable Natural Resources), considering Artisanal Mining and Small-scale Mining. For 2012, Ecuador initiated large-scale mining activities. The Ecuadorian Government, through the National Secretariat for Planning and Development (SENPLADES), defined five strategic mining projects: Fruta del Norte, Mirador, Project awarded to the company Gold Gold, Río Blanco and Panantza San Carlos. Prior to their exploitation, concessionaires of these projects must sign a mining contract with the State. The environmental aspect considers: Direct or indirect impact on the environment. Depending on the effect; Short or long term. Be reversible or irreversible. The five projects, plus the Llurimagua project, located in Imbabura, should attract investments of about USD 8 billion up to 2024, presenting optimism for the mining industry, but the challenges are in mitigating environmental impacts and training productive labor. ; En el Ecuador de hoy, históricamente, en las provincias de Manabí y Esmeraldas en la Costa; Azuay y Cañar en la Sierra, fueron las que más desarrollaron la minería. En las décadas de los 80s y 90s la Misión Británica realizó trabajos de investigación geológica en las cordilleras Oriental (Real) y Occidental, concluyendo con la publicación de mapas a diferentes escalas. Las competencias del Ministerio Sectorial son ejercer la rectoría de las políticas públicas del área geológico-minera, expedir los acuerdos y resoluciones administrativas que requiera su gestión; evaluar las políticas, planes y proyectos para el desarrollo del sector minero; definir en coordinación con la entidad rectora de la planificación nacional, el Plan Nacional de Desarrollo del Sector Minero. La Ley de Minería, vigente desde enero de 2009, estableció una nueva institucionalidad, conformada por: Ministerio Sectorial (Ministerio de Recursos Naturales No Renovables), considerando La Minería Artesanal y La pequeña Minería. Para 2012, Ecuador inició actividades mineras a gran escala. El Gobierno ecuatoriano, a través de la Secretaría Nacional de Planificación y Desarrollo (SENPLADES), definió cinco proyectos mineros estratégicos: Fruta del Norte, Mirador, Proyecto concesionado a la empresa lam Gold, Río Blanco y Panantza San Carlos. Previo a su explotación, los concesionarios de estos proyectos deben firmar con el Estado un contrato de explotación minera. El aspecto ambiental considera: Impacto directo o indirecto sobre el medio. Según sea el efecto; a corto o largo plazo. Sea reversible o irreversible. Los cinco proyectos, más el proyecto Llurimagua, ubicado en Imbabura, deberían atraer inversiones por cerca de USD 8000 millones hasta 2024, presentándose un optimismo de la industria minera, pero los desafíos están en mitigar los impactos ambientales y capacitar la mano de obra productiva.

Employing the works of Spaargaren and Mol, the intersections of "environmental flows," including both material flows (the extraction, transportation and exportation of oil) as well as non-material flows (community and environmental campaigns), are examined along an oil supply chain. Four communities in Ecuador are studied in order to reveal how a community's spatial and social dimensions influence its response to the construction of an oil pipeline as well as its establishment of advocacy networks. By holding constant the point of contention, these cases reveal that grassroots and professional organizations in communities most integrated in petroleum's commodity chain are least coupled with transnational campaigns. In contrast, environmental groups in areas least experienced in the environmental and health burdens associated with residing near oil facilities establish denser international ties. From these findings, this article calls for the insertion of community deliberation and community monitoring as necessary links in the flow of oil. Adapted from the source document.

A systems approach to the process of adaptation to extreme environmental conditions is presented, utilizing the concepts input, output, & adaptation. The process of adaptation to extreme conditions produces a 'general adaptation syndrome,' characterized by stress-producing inputs, or stressors, of energy or information. The readjustments involved in adapting to stressful inputs may be complex. They include both specific changes determined by the nature of the environmental conditions & nonspecific responses of the system to emergencies. Nonspecific adjustments in humans range from the alerting response, which signals an alteration in the environment, to widespread changes involving multiple subsystems. These can be divided into 3 interrelated categories: (a) responses mediated by the reticular system; (b) those mediated by the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system; & (c) those mediated by the pituitary-adrenal system. Coping mechanisms for information overloads, whether in a cell, an individual, a small group, a large org or society include the following categories: ommission; queuing; filtering; multiple channels; approximation; error; & escape. When stress arises from the meaning of information inputs, the following major patterns of adjustment to symbolic dangers are possible: repression; denial; rationalization; reaction formation; undoing; isolation; projection; regression; & displacement. Although the environmental changes which threaten our society may soon constitute energy inputs which require adaptive adjustments, most people are now confronted with extreme environments in a symbolic rather than a realistic sense. No matter how extreme the environment, examples can usually be found of compensatory processes which have enabled most individuals to adapt. 1 Figure. M. Maxfield.

Employing the works of Spaargaren and Mol, the intersections of "environmental flows," including both material flows (the extraction, transportation and exportation of oil) as well as non-material flows (community and environmental campaigns), are examined along an oil supply chain. Four communities in Ecuador are studied in order to reveal how a community's spatial and social dimensions influence its response to the construction of an oil pipeline as well as its establishment of advocacy networks. By holding constant the point of contention, these cases reveal that grassroots and professional organizations in communities most integrated in petroleum's commodity chain are least coupled with transnational campaigns. In contrast, environmental groups in areas least experienced in the environmental and health burdens associated with residing near oil facilities establish denser international ties. From these findings, this article calls for the insertion of community deliberation and community monitoring as necessary links in the flow of oil.

Living systems tend to maintain in equilibrium variables associated with their continued existence. Environ mental conditions which force these variables beyond their normal ranges produce stress within the system. Feedback mechanisms then seek to restore equilibrium. Stress arises from overloads or underloads of energy and information, as well as from inputs which have threatening implications. The process of adapting to stress depends partly on the nature of the stress-producing agent and partly on the mechanisms available to the system. Exposure to heat, for example, involves dilation of blood vessels, reduction of body activity, and sweating to reduce body heat. At the same time, the system undergoes neurophysiological and endocrine changes which are found in many other types of stress. When the system is subjected to extreme environmental conditions for an extended period of time, adaptive responses may become increasingly costly. A possible outcome is one of the "dis eases of adaptation" described by Selye. Eventually, adap tive mechanisms may fail and the system may collapse. The stress encountered by most individuals arises from the symbolic, rather than the physical, aspects of their environ ment. Among the exceptions are groups such as antarctic explorers, mountain-climbers, prisoners of war, and crews of space vehicles. Although problems arise under these condi tions, most studies of men under stress reveal a remarkable capacity for adaptation to extreme environments.

AbstractIn May 2017 in Ecuador, the government of Rafael Correa handed over the presidency after 10 years and several mandates. His administration established the redefinition of the constitutional bases: the buen vivir cultural development and policy approach with a new transformative educational policy that sought to contribute to inclusion, overcoming inequalities, and poverty. His government benefited from high oil and commodity prices and broad popular support. This research has set out to review the results of the official national survey ENEMDU completed in December 2017. With a descriptive, bivariate, and multidimensional quantitative data analysis, we sought to shed light on the correlations between subjective poverty associated with buen vivir, school conditions, and ICT access and use of the school population in 2017. Results indicate a critical flaw in the buen vivir policies that failed to achieve their most valued and declared objective with indigenous and rural populations.