The Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant (Ecuador): A problematic anthropogenic action
Abstract
The article addresses the hypothesis that the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric power plant (1500 MW) is not the victim, but rather the main cause of the accelerated regressive erosion crisis in the Coca River following the collapse of the San Rafael waterfall (2020). Using a strategic methodology of documentary evaluation of reports from the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGE) and engineering records, the study demonstrates that the project largely ignored the precautionary principle and the principle of environmental legality (PLGA). The results reveal systemic failures: the dam created a condition of “hungry water” by retaining sediments, and thousands of fissures and uneven compliance with mitigation measures were documented. This technical dysfunction and dysfunctional governance externalized the risk, resulting in an asymmetric socioeconomic crisis in the canton of El Chaco, where erosion destroyed a significant part of the agricultural production base and the tourism sector, undermining territorial resilience.
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