Ecuador announced this month that it’s eliminating the Ministry of Environment and folding its responsibilities into the Ministry of Energy and Mines — a move that could prove disastrous for conservation efforts, critics say. President Daniel Noboa announced the mergers of more than a dozen ministries as part of a larger effort to cut back on public spending. But conservationists say the country needs an independent Ministry of Environment to protect fragile forest ecosystems from mining, oil and gas, and other forms of development. “It’s not a simple institutional reorganization,” the Ecuadorian Coordinator of Organizations for the Defense of Nature and the Environment, a coalition of green groups, said in a statement. “It represents an unprecedented setback in environmental protection and constitutes a direct attack on the rights of nature, the rights of present and future generations, and the constitutional framework of Ecuador.” The presidential decree, published July 24, builds on an institutional reform plan introduced last year to limit spending and improve “efficiency and effectiveness” in the government — part of a larger effort to revive the national economy. The country experienced a sharp economic slowdown in 2023 fueled by drought-driven electricity shortages and tight public budget constraints, which stifled investment and prevented businesses from operating normally. The security crisis, caused by a rise in organized crime, also contributed to the slowdown, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last year during loan talks. President Daniel Noboa speaks during a military ceremony in Quito. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) In July, the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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