"Amazon Watch climate and energy director Kevin Koenig called the Constitutional Court of Ecuador's decision 'a major victory for Indigenous peoples and an important step in protecting some of the most environmentally fragile and culturally sensitive places in the Amazon.'

'It is also a reminder for oil companies and investors that expanding oil extraction in Ecuador's Amazon is a risk and full of potential legal liabilities,' Koenig added. The court rejected plans to drill for oil in a protected area of the Yasuní National Park in the Amazon and now the more than 23 million acres will be protected, both good news for the Indigenous community and environment."