The Canadian International Development Agency (ACDI-CIDA) requires that careful consideration be given to potential environmental problems caused by a project that it is supporting. The Condor project took particular care to respond to this requirement in its presentation to ACDI-CIDA because the communities involved are located in Mt. Chimborazo's National Park an area known as "paramo", that is a sensitive growth area of rare plants and crystalline waters found above the 3,800 meter level. These Andean volcanoes are among the source waters of the Amazon River.

On-going monitoring and evaluation to verify the real environmental effects of the project will be carried out to make sure that the proposed mitigation measures are implemented. As well, the men, women and youth of the community will be reviewing environmental topics related to the implementation of the project they are respectively involved in.

Further down in this "ecological section" of the website is found a case history of the "San Juan - Las Arenas" road recently built on Mt. Chimborazo with loans from the Inter-American Development Bank, of which Canada is a contributing member. This road was built through a protected area, a reserve for the production of fauna on Mt. Chimborazo without respecting the environmental impact study realised as a condition of it obtaining the $US 3.5 million needed to finance it. The road is now constructed and the environmental abuse committed there is a classic case of the "big against the small" and of first world countries financing mega projects that cause environmental damage in third world countries.

The Calpi - San Juan - El Arenal road built between 1997 - 1999 on the slopes of Mt. Chimborazo, at 6,300 meters the world's highest volcano, passes through a Protected Area known as the Chimborazo Reserve for Fauna Protection and has an extension of 58.560 hectares. 19% of this area is formed by "puna" and the zone is characterised as dry "paramo" with vegetation that is unique to the Ecuadorian Andes.

The road has an extension of 29 kms. and was being financed by an external loan of $US 3.5 million by the Interamerican Development Bank of which Canada is a contributing member.

The Company "CIEPER CIA. LTDA" was contracted to produce an administrative plan with measures to mitigate the environmental impact of the road and its construction. The report produced 12 specific actions for the road builders to implement for the prevention, control and mitigation of the potentially negative environmental impacts and for the rehabilitation of affected areas because of the execution of the project during its different phases (preparation, construction, operation and maintenance.

On the 15th of May, 1997 community leaders from San Pablo Pulingui formally presented a written complaint to INEFAN, one of the Ecuadorian government bodies responsible for the environmental fiscalization of the project stating that for over a month the community's water supply had been destroyed by the road work, that irrigation systems had been damaged and in spite of the road passing through kilometres of community property, the community itself had neither been informed nor consulted.

The following day, May 16th, 1997 INEFAN wrote the Ministry of Public Works stating that in spite of the Environmental Impact Plan "until the present date the road constructor has not complied with the mitigation measures". The community leaders visited the Ministry of Public Works office in Riobamba, the Provincial capital and as a result a meeting was arranged to be held in the San Pablo Pulingui itself with the presence of National Parks Representative, the Ministry of Public Works, the Road Constructor and two of the many native communities affected adversely by the road construction.

At the meeting in San Pablo Pulingui all the participants voiced their concerns and there was verbal agreement that the problems being caused by the road construction and negatively affecting the native communities should be addressed as well as those damages being caused to the rare vegetation in the protected areas of Chimborazo's fauna reserve.

Effectively, the road constructors have ignored the implementation of the Environmental Impact Plan and the two government bodies (Public Works Ministries, National Parks) have preferred to look the other way. The native communities are very poor and have limited resources to have the laws respected and preferred to accept some handouts from the authorities rather than pursue their claim for damages. The road was finished late in 1999.