LEONELA MONCAYO ATTACKED FOR SPEAKING OUT ABOUT CLIMATE-DESTROYING GAS FLARES

Fourteen-year-old Leonela Moncayo is a hope-inspiring environment defender. Together with eight other Amazonian girls, Leonela went to court to call for a stop to gas flaring in Ecuador—an oil extraction process that releases large amounts of methane, with dire environmental and health repercussions.

The activism of Leonela and the Amazonian girls led to a landmark court ruling that gas flaring must end. But the government has failed to act on the court ruling and the number of gas flares has increased.

Leonela Moncayo speaks out in Ecuador’s National Assembly. Photo: @UDAPT

On February 21, Leonela confronted Ecuador’s Energy Minister with the facts in the National Assembly. The Minister responded by dismissing Leonela’s concerns and admonished her for being manipulated by others. Days later, an improvised explosive device detonated outside Leonela's home. 

Thankfully, no one was hurt in the explosion. But there are huge concerns for the safety of Leonela, the other eight Amazonian girls, and their families. Their lives are endangered by belittling, stigmatizing accusations by government leaders that can incite hostility. Other land and water defenders who have spoken out against oil operations in Ecuador have been threatened, attacked, and killed with impunity.