Let me be completely transparent. Equador is not a model of best practices for indigenous people and the energy industry. There are still a lot of problems. I cannot think of any country in the world where things are working perfectly and everybody is happy. I think you may have some future witnesses from New Zealand, which I see as a front-runner, but there are still many issues in that country as well.
I try not to get bogged down by the negativity of this interaction in the industry. I try to look for the non-critical elements and draw on that. Yes, there is a huge class action lawsuit that has been ongoing for 16 years and has not been settled. That is still an issue. Yes, there are still environmental concerns. There are many communities that are not happy with their relationship with the government and the national oil company and mining companies. It is not the perfect place, but what we are seeing, and what I'm seeing, are small elements of change.
In my interactions with the communities I met, it wasn't that the people did not want to engage with the industry, but that they didn't know how. Or, they were given tools, but they didn't know how to use them, they didn't know how to monetize them, and they got frustrated.
As an example, I had the fortunate opportunity to meet a young lawyer who went to Quito, got educated and returned home to his community. He was very open-minded and very embracing of the different potential opportunities the industry could bring, but he very quickly turned because he got frustrated. I think there are many different elements that contributed, but you are starting to see people pushing forward and things beginning to change. It's just a question of keeping that momentum up.
I've dedicated my career to this. My mission is to begin to contribute to the positive dialogue and positive outcomes for indigenous communities and the industry.